


Two Ghosts

by evol_revolution



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Drama, F/M, Family, First Love, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-04 15:52:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11558469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evol_revolution/pseuds/evol_revolution
Summary: Aurora Jane spent the last half of her teenage years living in England. She attended university in the UK before moving to New York to work for a famous Public Relations company, Jones PR. Her two bestfriends in the world were Harry and Gemma Styles.But after a falling out with Harry, her life progresses without him.Two years later her PR company moves her to England to head up their new field office, meaning her biggest promotion to date. Lucky for her - she gets to move to her English home town, Holmes Chapel.Unluckily, some nasty rumors start about their past and force them together. Just when things start falling into place with Harry, the rumor mill starts again. Can they overcome the gossip and lies that come with international fame? Or will they succumb to the pressures weighing on them? Only time will tell.THANK YOU to the lovely @ILOVEBOOKS9 for the absolutely STUNNING cover!





	1. Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Some of the real life events in this work have been taken straight from the internet for my tweaking into this story line. Famous people included are obviously famous, and not my creations. This work does not reflect on their true character, personality, or real life experiences. Except Harry, he's a doll and his real life actions inspired this story. Any and all of the bad traits H has in this work are from me and not a reflection of the real him!

Businesses in this work, most likely were put in after a quick google search. So credit for those names/businesses go to the actual owners and I claim no  _real_  knowledge of them. Except Jones PR, I made that one myself. Though I am not aware if there is a real Jones PR. If so, this reflects on them in no way shape or form.

As the author, I tried to use real events that we all as a fandom have heard of/witnessed. As such, these are not my creative babies and I do not claim them as such. 

If you don't remember it happening, then those events most likely came out of my very twisted mind and are in fact my babies. Especially Aurora. She's my main hoe, please don't steal her. I know she's flawed, but I like her that way (and hope you do too!) ♡

Any pictures used in the actual chapters are not mine and credit will be given if I am able to find the original source. Otherwise, a google search with provide you with the pictures included. Again, NOT MINE. 

The gifs on each chapter have probably come from Giphy, and that's all I really know about those. 

I'll also include the typical disclaimer that I found on google... it's more official ^.^

Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.


	2. Prologue.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where you meet Aurora and my version of Harry for the first time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: One note, I am a rather new fan... so some things may not be 100% accurate but I am researching as I go and anything that is 'wrong' is most likely my choice for the purposes of this story. Hope you like it!! Needless to say, I own Aurora... not Harry though.. because he is a human being and owning one is illegal. Cheers! ~Evol

I'm Aurora Jane but my friends call me AJ and one of my best friends calls me Rory but he's the only one allowed. Unfortunately I use the term "best friend" loosely since I haven't talked to him in about 2 years. Thankfully my other best friend is his sister, so at least I know he's doing okay.

We got into a massive, massive fight the last time we spoke. It was a death sentence to our entire friendship I suppose, and now I'm getting ready to move back home.

 

_+Two Years Ago+_

_New York 5am_

_Bzzzt bzzzt bzzt bzzzt THUMP_

_I sat straight up in bed and looked around trying to figure out what woke me. Bzzt bzzzzt. I looked down and saw my phone on the floor, screen lit up flashing "Gem" at me. "Shit!" I hopped out of bed and grabbed the phone, "Hello?" I croaked noticing the alarm said 5:00am on the dot._

_"Hey love! Morning there yet?" I heard the chipper voice of one of my best friends. I sat down on the bed, "What's wrong?" I heard a long sigh on the other end of the phone and knew I was right. I glanced behind me to see my boyfriend Aiden start shifting around so I moved into the living room while listening to Gem explain something I never thought I'd hear._

_"What do you mean he left? I thought he was out of a few shows and that he'd be coming back." I argued and then put my hand over my heart, "Oh god Gem, how's Harry?" She let out another sigh and I knew it wasn't good. "He's wreaked honestly. That's actually why I called so early to tell you love." I nodded then realized that she couldn't see me. "Skype me in a few, I need to get dressed." I hung up without waiting for a response and lightly jogged into the bedroom to grab a pair of jeans, an old t-shirt that I've had forever. I think I stole it from Harry in high school, which is hilarious because no matter how many times I wash it the thing still vaguely smells like the cologne he used to wear._

_I pulled it over my head and inhaled deeply, smiling as my head popped through the hole and I shoved my arms in. I heard rustling behind me and I knew Aiden had completely woken up now._

_"Baby? What are you doing? Come back to bed." He insisted and I shook my head. "Can't, family emergency. I have to go check on Harry. Yes having a rough time. One of the other lads left-" he rolled his eyes and flopped back on the bed. "You're always running off for poor Harry." I heard the mumble through his arms crossed over his face._   
  


_" I am seriously going to try to ignore that you just said that Aiden. He's one of my best friends. When something happens I WILL be there for him." I insisted and rolled my eyes back. He scoffed, "I hate to tell you this but he is your best friend. Gemma might have started in that position, but I didn't see you run to console her when that guy broke her heart. You didn't hop on a plane to England. Harry has some 'emergency' and your running off in the middle of the night." I slammed my hand on top of the dresser and looked at him through the mirror in front of me._   
  


_"This is hardly me running off in the middle of the night, its first thing in the morning and Gem was the one that called me since Harry is still in the city and SHE is in England. And I couldn't afford a round trip ticket at the time that ass broke her heart. But thanks for the reminder that I wasn't able to be there for her." I hissed and grabbed my phone off the dresser when it dinged. I tapped the screen and Gemma popped up and gave me a wave, I returned it with a weak smile. I held the phone up discreetly so she could see Aiden was now sitting up in the bed._   
  


_"Thanks for checking on Harry for me." She said a little louder than normal. I nodded, "It's no problem." I moved the phone back so she could see my face only. "Do you have Paul's number?" she questioned. I had to think for a moment but nodded the affirmative. "Good, Harry stopped answering his phone and I can't find Paul's." I bent to grab some sandals and stood back up, "Well today is Friday so Paul is off, but I have Jamie's number too." I heard another scoff behind me and a mumbled, "of course you know his security schedule." Gemma and I smiled and rolled our eyes together._

_After a few more mumbled insults from Aiden and 'thank yous' and 'of courses' between Gem and me, I was on my way to the hotel when Harry and I assume the guys were staying. I placed a quick call to Jamie who was in charge of security for today, apologized for the early call and told him Gemma asked me to check on Harry for her. He would let the front desk know to let me up right away and he gave me the room number._

_By the time I got to the hotel it was almost 6am and I felt frazzled. I needed to see Harry and make sure he was alright. I'd never admit it but Aiden was right. Harry was my best friend in the entire world. Gem and I were definitely close but I almost always called Harry first with both good and bad news. In fact I was slightly offended that Harry wasn't the one that called me._

_I got through the lobby with no issues and stood in the elevator as it went to the top floor. When the elevator doors opened, Jamie was there waiting. I gave him a grin, "Hey Jamie! Thanks so much, that was the quickest I have ever gotten through a hotel lobby." He smiled back and directed me forward with his hand. "No problem Aurora, I'm glad you're here. I think Harry really needs to be with someone not in the band right now. Better that it's his BFF." He joked and stopped in front of Harry's room and knocked. He squeezed my shoulder and walked slowly down the hallway. When the door opened I noticed he sped up, satisfied that I wouldn't be waiting in the hallway._

_I glanced at Harry and saw his red rimmed eyes first and his curly messy hair second. He looked amazing, and terrible at the same time. I gave him a half smile and held my arms out welcoming a hug, instead he grabbed one of my outstretched hands and pulled me into the room. After slamming the door behind me he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him back. I felt his body shake in my arms as he cried and it just broke my heart. "Oh Harry," I mumbled into his hair and ran my fingers through his curls._

_"How'd you know?" He mumbled into my neck and I tried to hold back the goose bumps, but they of course didn't listen. So Harry moved us to the couch where there was a blanket. "Gem called," I informed as we untangled our limbs and sat down. We ended up smooshed side by side on the large couch and Harry grabbed the blanket, draping it over both of us. He nodded at me and moved his legs up on the couch so his body was turned towards the back of the couch and his upper body was on my legs. I giggled at his silliness since we used to do this when we were younger and he'd want his head rubbed._

_This time he tapped my legs so I knew he wanted me to lay down too. I pulled my legs out from under him and stretched out beside him with my back against the couch and our chests touching. "I thought for sure you wanted your head rubbed," I explained my giggle and he let a small smile grace his mouth. "There it is!" I exclaimed and put both of my hands on his cheeks. Then his grin popped onto his face and he let out a small laugh. "How? How do you do that?"_ _He questioned me._

_I grinned back, "I have no clue, but I've kind of always been able to do that huh?" I admitted. I rubbed one of his cheeks with my thumb and leaned up to kiss his forehead. Since I was laying on my right side I put my right arm under his head and made him rest while I ran my left hand through his hair, being careful of the tangles and gently running my nails on his forehead since it always relaxed him. He let out a big sigh and I felt the tension release from him. I pulled the blanket up around his shoulders and kept my hands moving slowly through his long hair. I loved it this length and would be very sad when he finally cut it._

_I felt my phone go off in my pocket then my alert for facetime went off. I quickly grabbed it and held Harry still when I saw it was Gemma. "It's just Gem checking in, I told her I'd let her know when I was here and I forgot." I admitted and hit the screen. Harry snuggled back into me and the blanket as I mumbled a hello. Gem raised her eyebrows and grinned. She'd been trying to convince me for the last few years that Harry and I would make a perfect couple so I guess doing things like this just encourages her. Plus, she absolutely hates Aiden. Well...not as a person. Just as my boyfriend, though I think it has more to do with her wanting me to be her sister. Her words, not mine._

_She wriggled her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes. "Well hello you two! I was just checking in. Wait, is he asleep?" She asked. I looked over at Harry, and listened to his breathing. Some how he did fall asleep in about 15 seconds. "Actually, yes. Yes he is." I shook my head and smiled at her. "See! You guys just need to get together!" She insisted. "Oh my god Gemma! Seriously, Harry could literally have any girl he'd like. He's been with Taylor Swift for Christ's sake, I am the last one on his list." I insisted, completely exasperated with Gemma's insistence on Harry and I being together._

_She rolled her eyes and dropped the subject. "How is he?" She asked and I frowned. "We haven't really talked about it, I got here and he just started crying as soon as I hugged him. He's crushed. I know he will be fine in a few days, but until then he's just going to have to mourn it." She nodded and said that Aiden called and asked if something was really going on or was she covering for me. "He what?!" I yelled. I felt Harry jolt beside me and I leaned over to kiss his cheek and I got up and went to the bathroom so I wouldn't wake him completely. I saw the smirk on Gemma's face at the kiss but I ignored it. "Yeah, no big deal. I told him what was going on. And I think he went back to sleep." I rolled my eyes and we chatted a bit more before I went back with Harry. He was sitting up on the couch, still under the blanket though._

_I stopped in my tracks and smiled at his sleepy look. "I woke up when you left." he complained. I grinned at him and he held his arms out. I switched my phone to silent and sat it down on the coffee table. I walked over and he pulled me down on his lap. I laughed and he gave me a genuine smile for the first time tonight. I felt my smile stretch and I looked down trying to settle my heart. It had been a while since I had seen Harry in person and I forgot just how adorable he was. It made my heart race. I felt his fingers on my chin and he lifted my head to look into my eyes. His other hand moved to my chest, right over my heart and I felt it flutter and start thudding against his hand. I lost myself for a moment and my hand went over his, holding it tight to my chest._

_"I heard what you said to Gemma." he whispered. I tilted my head to the side and furrowed my eyebrows. "About Zayn?" I questioned. He gave me a soft smile, "Yes, but also about Taylor." My eyebrows flew up and I suddenly felt very shy, I clutched his hand on my chest and felt my heart speed up even more. He pressed his hand to my chest harder and his other hand went into my hair. My eyes slowly closed until I felt him shift under my and grip my hair gently. "I have always thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Now you are the most gorgeous woman on the planet." he whispered as he leaned closer to my face. My breathing was shallow and the butterflies in my stomach were going ballistic, enough that I had to lean forward to try to limit the fluttering. "Hah, you are hilarious Harold." He answered me with a smirk when I said Harold and tightened his hand in my hair just enough to make me suck in a breath and he pulled me forward while leaning up._

_His lips barely brushed mine and I felt like my heart was going to explode._

Hmm, you never felt like this with Aiden...

_Damn my inner voice, because it was right._

_His lips gently grazed mine, I breathed in when he exhaled and he breathed in when I exhaled. I couldn't move, my body was stuck in a state of shock, not sure what it should be doing. Slowly I moved my hand from on top of his and slowly slid my fingers up to his shoulder and rested both of my hands on his cheek. I pulled away for a moment, just a small amount and looked into his eyes. My eyes flicked down to his mouth again as his tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip. I looked back up into his eyes again and pulled his mouth against mine again. I tilted his head further to the side to give both of us better access._

_The hand on my chest moved up to cup the side of my face and neck while his other hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush against him. I let out a small moan and moved my hands into his hair, pulling him back to look at him again. I could tell this was frustrating him and he gripped my hips and stood up, my legs wrapped around his waist and my hands tightened around his neck. He leaned up and started kissing my neck, a loud moan rushed out of my mouth and my face flushed in embarrassment. He chuckled and laid me down on the bed, laying between my legs. "Everything about this feels even better than I thought it would." He mumbled into my lips then the talking stopped. Our lips moved together, everything in sync until he bit my lip. My hips pushed into his and my nails dug into his shoulders as another moan escaped my lips. He groaned into my mouth and rubbed his hips against mine. My hands slipped up the back of his shirt and I lightly ran my nails down his back, causing goose bumps to break out. "Why have we never done this before?" I mumbled into his lips before pushing my tongue into his mouth to swirl with his._

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

_Be both jumped on the bed and split apart, I sat on the end of the bed with my hand cupping my mouth. My hands trembled._

And at this moment...I should have realized that my relationship with Aiden was doomed. But I didn't, I tried to be loyal to the bastard.

_"Harry..." I trailed off as I looked up at him. He glanced from me to the door, "Just a sec," he walked to the door and opened it to see Jamie. I waved from behind Harry, still sitting on the bed. The exchanged some words then Jamie nodded to me as Harry shut the door. I looked down at my hands in my lap, I couldn't make eye contact with him. I just couldn't. I was NEVER the kind of girl that cheated, and now I felt like a whore. I felt like one of his one night stands even though all we did was kiss._

_He sat beside me and took my hand in his. "I am so sorry, I just-" he cut himself off and took a deep breath. "I guess with everything going on at the moment, I just needed to feel something good. I'm sorry." I nodded and took my hand back. This seemed to piss Harry off, which I tried to be understanding about. I know he is going through a lot right now. "Listen, Harry you know I'm still with Aiden. I have been for almost a year now and-" he scoffed and stood up. "That's not why I'm sorry. Fuck him, he treats you like shit. The only person that can't see that is you. And if you are dumb enough to think he loves you than just leave Rory." My eyes widened and I stood up to grab my phone off the table, really I just wanted to hide the tears in my eyes from him. "Harry," He stood up too and walked past me to get his phone._

_"_ _I'm pregnant Harry_ _." My strangled voice caught on the words and sounded like sand paper moving through my throat. He stopped moving and his shoulders tensed. I walked up behind him and put my hand on his arm. "No!" He yelled and shot away from me, disgust showing on his face. I stepped towards him again and he backed up with every step I took. "Harry, I just found out. I haven't" He raised his hand and I stopped talking. "It's fine, I wont say a fucking word Aurora. Not a word. How long have you known?" I sighed and felt my shoulders slack, "I'm about 4 weeks. Just found out yesterday actually." I felt the tears build in my eyes but I just stared at the wall behind him, not blinking. As things started to get blurry, I could tell he wanted to comfort me and he took a step forward. His hands clenched and then he backed up two steps. A bitter laugh escaped my lips and I hugged my arms around my stomach. "You can't even stand to look at me now, huh?" I shook my head and grabbed my bag, pushing past him to the door. He quickly grabbed my arm and when I stopped he immediately let go._

_"Do you honestly think I don't know about the time he hit you?" He questioned me, his face changing to match my anger. "It was one fucking time_ Harold _. And both of us were drunk, it's not an excuse, but it also never happened again." My voice raised in anger and I had the urge to stomp my foot for emphasis but resisted. "Yet." I shook my head, "What?"_

_He finally raised his eyes to mine, "Yet, it hasn't happened again yet. And now you are pregnant with his child, what the fuck are you thinking?" He actually yelled at me, I couldn't believe it._

_"I'm thinking that I am a big girl and I can do whatever the fuck I want. So stop being a twat." I shook my hands out, they were tingling. I don't remember ever fighting with Harry. Sure, small arguments but this is a proper fight. He drew in a breath but I cut him off before he could begin to argue back, "I didn't get pregnant on purpose but I sure as fuck can't have an abortion so it is what it is." He just shook his head and I bounced on my feet anticipating another yelling match. I put my chin down on my chest and tried to explain, "Condom broke and apparently my birth control didn't work either."_

_His fists clenched and his knuckles turned white. "That's what you fucking get for not listening to Gem when she told you to fucking leave his ass like a year ago!" he exploded and my hands flew up in the air, "Seriously?! Harry, it was my decision and now I have to live with the consequences. I don't understand why you are so fucking mad!" I crossed my arms over my stomach again, I hated ever moment of this. I officially hate arguing with Harry, this makes me feel worse emotionally then arguing with just about anyone else. "I'm mad because I know you will do what you think is the right thing! You'll go get married and have his baby and he doesn't deserve you." he paused for a moment and snapped, "How could you not think we would be perfect together. How dare you just throw my emotions back in my face!" He picked up a cup from the coffee table and threw it full on at the wall. I jumped and widened my eyes as him. The cup hit and shattered, scattering pieces all over the floor. He let out a frustrated grunt and ran his fingers through his hair. His cheeks were red, his chest moved up and down rapidly._

_"I never once have thrown your emotions back in your face! In fact I know I have been one of the few people who has listened to you pour your heart out Har..." I trailed off then sucked up my resolve, "This time you just poured it out a little too late." I admitted and tried to step towards him again, my anger leeching out when I realized that all I've done is upset him more than he already was. His hands were holding his head, fingers gripping his hair, bent over and looking at the floor. "No!" he screamed and I stopped all movement, my chest tight and breathing became hard._

_I just realized exactly what I had done, reinforced all of Aiden's insecurities about Harry. I just almost had sex with Harry even though I was with Aiden and swore to him that there were no feelings there other than brotherly ones._ Fuck _._

You just broke three hearts today. Good job.

_"Harry," he sank to his knees and I landed in front of him not a second later. I wrapped my arms around him even though he fought me. He sobbed a keening cry and suddenly I understood. Not once did I deny my feelings, I had just told him it was too late. That's worse than unrequited love, I just broke Harry's heart for no reason. Because once I leave here, I know what I'm doing. Breaking up with Aiden and I will never tell him I'm pregnant. "Please, Harry, just listen to me okay. Everything will be fine, I'm sorry I hurt you. You know that's never something I want to do. I am so sorry, and it's not like I don't have feelings for you but I never thought that you-" His body jerked in my arms and I slid back a little. He was still breathing heavily, "get out."_

_I held my breath for a moment, not sure I heard him right. "What?" I breathed out barely audible. He looked up at me and stared into my eyes, "GET OUT!" he didn't yell but there was enough emotion in his voice that I knew better than to argue. I nodded and stood up, grabbing my bag from where I dropped it on the floor when I hugged him. "Loose my number." his deep voice sounded like sandpaper and I started shaking. "Harry, I'm not-" he shook his head and sat down on his feet, still kneeling on the ground, "No, congratulations on becoming a mother and get the fuck out. Loose my number, I'm sure I'll get a thousand updates on you from Mum and Gemma anyway so get. The. Fuck. Out." He yelled the last few words and I listened._

_Silent tears fell down my face as I left. Opening the door I saw Jamie standing to the side. Fantastic. "I suppose you heard all that?" I mumbled. He nodded and my shoulders slumped in defeat. I let him call a car for me and he had a newer security guard named Ben escort me to the car._   
  


And that was the last time I saw Harry Styles.

A few days after that, I went to the doctor because of excessive bleeding. I was informed that I was having a miscarriage. Possibly due to stress, go figure, or something being wrong and not forming correctly. Me? I'll be alright, two years later I live on my own still in New York and work for a publishing company. 


	3. One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All chapters wont be this long but, I couldn't end it anywhere else. Please let me know what you think! Or at least vote so I know some of the people reading this enjoy it! The twitter usernames I used in here are all made up, including the ones for Harry, Gemma, and Anne. If any of them are actual usernames, please let me know and I'll change them up. Cheers!

The door slammed behind me as I threw my keys onto the hallway table and flicked the switches on. I toed my shoes off and wandered through the hall and up the steps.

 

I quickly changed clothes and ambled through the house to the living room. I collapsed on the couch and flipped the TV on. I was exhausted after having a bunch of interviews today. I finally know who will be on staff and hopefully I will be able to move at the end of the year. That's right, some fucking how I ended up back in Holmes Chapel. One reason was because I spent quiet a few of my teenage years here, but it's also very close to Manchester, well 45 minutes but I wanted to live somewhere familiar. Plus Gemma is living in the area again.

 

Speaking of, she sent me a link that I was apparently supposed to watch as soon as I got home. I pulled it up and while it loaded I settled back into the pillows. The music for "The Late Late Show with James Corden' played then just guitar strumming. I looked down and felt like my stomach was in my throat.

 

_Damn her..._

 

I took a deep breath and stared as Harry stood on stage in a white shirt that resembled a pirate shirt, and damn if he didn't pull it off. Then I realized something... _He cut his hair!_

 

I exited the app quickly and shot a quick text to Gemma

 

 

To: Gemma <3: OMG...he cut his hair....

 

I pulled the app back up and started it over, this time actually listening to the song. I closed my eyes as the guitar strumming. I really missed listening to him play in the living room at his parents house.

 

**Same lips red, same eyes blue  
Same white shirt, couple more tattoos  
But it's not you and it's not me  
Tastes so sweet, looks so real  
Sounds like something that I used to feel  
But I can't touch what I see**

_And that's about Taylor..._ **  
**

 

I sighed feeling my body deflate into the pillows behind me. I can't believe I am listening to this now. I had pretty much boycotted all news on the progress of any new music or any interviews. But here I am, still listening. Trying to ignore my silly heart thumping away in my chest, though I could feel the heavy thumps the whole way to my toes. The next part I tuned in for was the chorus.

 

**We're not who we used to be  
We're not who we used to be  
We're just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me  
We're not who we used to be  
We're not who we used to be  
We're just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty  
Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat**

 

And here my heart tries to torture me.  _Poor Harry..._ Poor Harry?! For a song about his break up it didn't sound half as depressing as you'd assume. Then that vile little voice that everyone has but tries never to listen to comes out.

 

_It's about you silly, he's saying sorry without saying sorry. Taylor isn't the only one with blue eyes you bint._  "HAH!" I scoffed to myself and shook my head. By this point the song had ended and I had the chorus stuck in my head. My phone went off in my hand.

 

From: Gemma <3: REALLY?! That's all you have to say?!

 

To: Gemma <3: NO...I really enjoyed the song, I've missed hearing Harry play...Hopefully Taylor knows that song is for her.

 

I tagged that last sentence on and quickly hit send and jumped up, going to the kitchen. I quickly heated up leftovers and ate standing at the bar, playing the clip of Harry on James Corden again. About half way through the song it was interupted by my generic ring tone.

 

**Incoming call... Gemma <3**

 

I rested my chin on my chest and pursed my lips before answering.

 

"Ello?" I mumbled, feeling like a teenager getting caught sneaking out.

 

"Don't you 'hello' me! I mean honestly, how could you take that song to be about Taylor?" she scolded. I scoffed at her and defended, "Uhm, well 'red lips' and maybe 'blue eyes' DUH" I heard her sarcastic chuckle and knew where this conversation was going.

 

"And as his sister, do you think that I really don't know what each and every song is about on this album?" she questioned me, and I could hear the frustration in her voice. "No, no I do not think you know what every song on the album is about love. You forget I know- knew Harry, he's just told you the bare minimum and let you make assumptions from there." I heard her sigh in response and sat down at the bar after grabbing a bottle of cheep moscato and pouring a large glass.

 

We chatted a bit more, arguing back and forth. Before saying good night she forces a promise out of me. "Okay, so you have to do two things for me." With out even waiting for a response she explained, "I know you've heard 'Sign of the Times', but listen to it again keeping in mind this time that Harry wrote it about a woman giving birth and finding out she was going to die, but her baby would be just fine. I wonder who inspired that one." I dropped my glass on the floor and cursed Gemma. She just laughed and continued. "Then listen to 'Woman' and actually hear the words, would ya?"

 

I must have agreed since she got off the phone shortly after that. And I took myself to bed after cleaning up the glass.

 

 

The next morning I woke up in a groggy fog, thankful that today was Saturday and I had no plans to drive to the office today. I heard Gemma's parting words run through my head and I flung the blanket up over my head, wriggling further under the covers. Just my hand stuck out as I searched around for my phone, after knocking a few knickknacks off the bedside table I felt the smooth silicone of my phone case. Pulling it under the covers I swiped up and searched 'Woman by' on YouTube and it immediately popped up.

I tapped it and turned the volume up, creating a tent with my arm. Mentally I was freaking out. This will be the first time in 2 years that I willingly heard his voice. I closed my eyes.

 

_"Should we just search romantic comedies on Netflix and then see what we find?"_

 

I busted out laughing, remembering that was how we would spend Sunday nights when he wasn't on tour, though I couldn't get him to watch too many romantic comedies with me. Some of the best memories I had with Harry were just the two of us watching movies enough times that we could quote them to each other. This was our inside joke, something we'd even say on the phone to each other while he was on tour. Occasionally we'd watch something on Netflix together over the phone during tours.

I moved my head to the beat, loving the general feel of the song.

After the second verse of the song, I closed the app and called Gemma. As she answered I held the phone with my left hand and had my right forearm covering my eyes. "W-Woman." She squealed in my ear and I yanked the phone away.

" _You listened to it!_ " she howled.

"Yes, I actually just finished." I breathed out. I heard mumbles behind her and she covered the phone when she responded.

"So how did it make you feel?" her tone seemed weird but I blew it off as her overly perky morning self.

"Like an idiot," I paused to gather my thoughts and over heard her shush someone. "I mean, really, did  **everyone**  know how Harry felt about me?" I grumbled out.

I just heard a cackle answering me and I bit my lip. I rubbed my eyes as I murmured to myself, "Then, I am officially an idiot. Daft. Insensitive." I sat up and propped the pillow above the headboard and leaned on it. After the hyena laughter died down,  _the bint,_ "Whew, that was just what I needed this morning, thanks for that!" She informed me as I nodded sarcastically, even though she can't see it.

_"_ So, uh mum wants to know what you are doing today. We are having a little family dinner. Roast, your favorite _."_  I narrowed my eyes, not quite believing her.

"I'm not sure love, I want to see her and Robin but, I just don't know?" I was honestly not feeling very up to that situation. I haven't seen them since Harry and I had our falling out and it will just be so awkward.

"Listen, I honestly think mum is getting a complex. She really insists that you come for dinner. I think she's worried you hate her for some reason." She whispered conspiratorially into the phone. I just hope she wasn't telling the truth, I hope both her and Robin know I love them.

"Does she really?" I shot back, hoping she was kidding. "Well yeah, I mean who did you think I was shushing earlier?" she sassed me.

_Harry._ Damn this stupid ridiculous inner voice of mine.

"What time is dinner, and should I bring anything?" I conceded and smiled at the answering squeal. I was informed that no, I was to bring nothing but myself. After hanging up the phone I just spent the day being lazy and didn't even leave the bed until I needed to get ready for dinner. Dinners at the Twist/Styles house were not formal and since it was a half warm day out I decided a nice flowy sundress would do and chose a deep brown one, paired that with matching flats and pieced together some random blue jewelry to finish the look. I swiped some mascara on and a little eye liner, just enough to make my eyes pop.

I checked the full length mirror and saw that the blue necklace and earrings had just the affect I wanted, set off my blue eyes and the deep brown of the dress. I smoothed my hands down the skirt of the dress and walked to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of wine for Mama Styles and shuffled out the door. Still sort of dreading how this would go over.

An extremely short 15 minutes later, I arrived at their door. I stood there for a few minutes trying to calm my breathing.  _Please, please don't be weird or awkward. Please_. I raised my hand to knock but before it made contact, the door swung open in a flash and I had arm around me. "Oh!" Once I realized that the brown hair belonged to Anne I wrapped my arm around her. Gemma appeared in the doorway and took the wine from me to put in the kitchen. With my other arm now free I wrapped both my arms around Anne and held on for dear life.

"Oh we missed you so much darling!" She exclaimed while squeezing me a little harder. I rocked side to side with her and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I forgot how warm and motherly she was.  _It's been way too long_.

I felt her nod against my shoulder and realized that I said that out loud. I felt another arm on my back and saw an arm come around Anne's shoulders and looked up to see Robin joining our hug. He gave us a squeeze and I gave him a watery smile. We all pulled back a little but didn't untangle our arms, as soon as we saw that all three of us were close to tears we broke into laughter as the tears fell.

I wiped my eyes and gave them individual hugs, rambling the whole time. "I am so sorry," I began. "I just couldn't bring myself to come back here..." and the rambling continued.

I could see the fond look in Anne's eyes and Robin just shook his head at me, I could tell that they understood but I felt like it shouldn't be forgiven so easily. In fact I'm still not quite sure why Harry and I still haven't talked. Maybe it became habit after a while? I know I miss my best friend and I do feel terrible that I broke his heart, I just hope he still doesn't feel that way.

We eventually made it into the house after a few more hugs and settled at the table. Conversation was surprisingly easy, that is until the house phone rang. Anne jumped up, just like she always used to. She was constantly waiting for Harry to call, she worried herself too much. Harry was a big boy.

"Hello," she answered.

"Harry! How are you darling?" she asked and I looked down at the table. "I thought you weren't back until tomorrow?" she mumbled and I pretended to be really interested in the food. Although that's not too hard since Anne is a fantastic cook, I suddenly seemed to have lost my appetite. I heard her end the call and looked up as she say back down.

"Seems Harry should be here within the hour." She informed the table but seemed to keep her eyes away from mine. I hate that they don't even know what happened between us. Two years later and Gemma is still the only one that knows anything.

Gemma glanced over at me, "So what exactly does Jones PR have you doing here?" she tried changing the subject.

I grinned in thanks and explained, "They actually have me heading up the new office in Manchester. I'm not exactly running it, I'm just here to train the actual staff members. The management is being moved up from with in the company back in New York and should be arriving some time next week. I just get to work with the people who will be flouncing about with the clients and we uh, we will be doing 'workshops' and things to help them be prepared for any type of situation." My fork scrapped against the plate as I finished explaining and I cringed.

Once we all finished about half an hour had passed and I felt a tug at my stomach when I realized again that Harry was on his way here. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and just needed to get out of here. Luckily we already opened the wine I brought during dinner so I didn't need to stay longer.

"Well, I should head back home. I have some last minute things to take care of for work before next week when management comes." I lied. I just needed to escape before Harry's arrival trapped me in this house.

This used to be my second home, and now it feels like a prison.

Gem nodded, "I forgot about that, I'll walk you out." I took her up on her offer and said warm goodbyes to Anne and Robin, insisting that we make this a weekly thing as our schedules allowed. After they quickly agreed and we set the time for next week, Gem and I quickly left the house.

After two glasses of wine I felt quite warm but was not near intoxicated, I just had a loose tongue. "That was incredibly awkward." I admitted giving Gem a quick grimace and smiling at her laughter.

"I bet." she nodded and glanced down the street. I followed her gaze and my eyes popped.

Harry's SUV was signaling to turn up this street. Honestly, I'm not proud to admit this. I went into full panic mode.

"Well... tonight was lovely. Must be off! See you!" I gave her a quick hug and fled to my car. I was buckled and out of my parking spot before Harry was even halfway down the street. I didn't miss her cackling laughter at my awkwardness and sped down the street, barely stopping before hitting the gas to flee back home.

Ten minutes later I was safely inside and in a pair of panties and a long t-shirt. I covered up with a blanket and brought up  _Netflix_  on the TV, playing a show I had watched a thousand times so I didn't have to be 100% focused. A few hours went by blissfully uneventful and I ignored my phone dinging. I watched two or three episodes of _Sons of Anarchy_ , I loved the episodes with the cartel. About 11pm I turned the TV off and grabbed my phone.

  
12 Twitter notifications  
2 missed calls

6 texts

  
Well damn, so much for uneventful. I checked the texts first.

From: Gemma <3: Love, answer your phone!

 

I had a few more from her saying generally the same thing.

From: Gemma <3: Pick up! Some paps got pics of tonight!

From: Gemma <3: They are all over Twitter!

Well frick. But it's not too bad, just me either getting to or leaving their house. No biggie, right? So I pulled up Twitter...

And shit blew up fast.

8:30pm

_From: @MamaTwist: @AJGrif It was great to see you tonight!_

She posted a picture that Gemma took of me, Robin, and Anne. Not too bad, we all looked happy. I glanced at the comments.

_@GemmaStyles: @AJGrif see ya next time love!_  
@HarryStyles: @MamaTwist why wasn't I invited to family dinner?  
@MamaTwist: @HarryStyles well if you'd let people know when you'll be in...maybe you would be :P  
@Mrs_Styles: OMG I WANT TO BE INVITED TO FAMILY DINNER TOO!   
@styleshair: I want to be a part of this family so bad!   
@larryisreal: who is @AJGrif tho??  
_@mrsharrystyles: @MamaTwist QUEEN!_

All within minutes of the picture being posted. 

And I'm off there. I pulled up the pics from the paps and saw that I was tagged in them by the fans. No big deal. Don't look at the comments. They had pictures of Robin and Anne hugging me, of us laughing and crying. They had pictures of Gem and I hugging before I left and pictures of my car. Wonderful. My phone kept dinging because of new followers, so I turned the notifications off. I saw the tabloids tweeting about an exclusive story coming tomorrow and one of the pap pictures of just Anne and I hugging. The last few pictures were of Gemma and Harry hugging and entering the family home. 

_Fantastic_. Can you hear the sarcasm? Cause I sure as shit felt it. And screw Harry for commenting, this is just going to drive the fans absolutely bonkers.

To: Gemma <3: Saw that. Also saw the asshat commented on your mum's twitter post. Ugh.

From: Gemma <3: Yeah, he is an asshat for that. But...he was actually pretty upset that he didn't get here in time to see you. I kept my mouth shut about your race to leave the street.

 

I actually giggled. I would believe her if he had maybe tried to make contact with me at any point in the past two years.

 

To: Gemma <3: Yeah... thanks for that. Why was he upset?

From: Gemma <3: Now YOU'RE the asshat.

To: Gemma <3: WHAT

From: Gemma <3: It's not like he meant for you two to have a falling out, hm?

To: Gemma <3: But we did. End of.

 

I turned the phone on silent and went to bed. Ready for it to be Monday already so I had a reason to be busy while Harry was in town. 


	4. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit shorter than the previous, but it felt right ending it there. Please vote and comment! I'd love to hear what you think! What do you think will happen? What do you want to happen? What don't you want to happen? Cheers!

Knocking woke me up around 8am the next morning. Bleary eyed and yawning I made my way to the door but stopped briefly to turn the coffee pot on. I raised my hand to cover a yawn as I opened the door and almost choked, "Gemma? What the hell?" I demanded.

"I see you haven't been online yet today?" she pushed past me and went to sit at the bar while I shut the door a little forcefully.

"Girlie, I haven't even had coffee yet. So no, haven't been online." I felt bad for snapping, but again I haven't had coffee yet.

"Well, shit hit the fan love," She stood to get mugs out of the cabinet and sat them on the counter quietly adding, "So Harry will be here in like half an hour.." I choked on air. Literally. I  **choked** on AIR. I coughed a few times and held my chest as I struggled with a basic bodily function. Gem pursed her lips at me and grabbed creamer from the fridge and milk for herself.

"Wh-w-WHAT?!" I stood up and thundered around the bar to stand next to her. I grabbed her arm, "What are you talking about?!" She opened her mouth and I ripped my cup off of the bar interrupting, "I know you did not just say that Harry was coming to my house. Because he was not even meant to know that I was living in this country!" I poured a tad more of the creamer than I meant to but I went with that shit. Sweet coffee for an extra perk this morning. I noticed my hands were shaking when I poured the coffee and a little went on the counter.

Without making a comment Gem grabbed a rag and wiped the spill when I lifted the cup. I made a noncommittal noise in thanks. Silently she made her cup adding just a dash of milk and some sugar. I sipped loudly and sat down at the bar again to hide the shaking.

She waited until I finished my first cup, which took all of five minutes, and got up to make my second. "Harry is coming to talk to you about damage control." She stood as well to top off her coffee. I pulled a face, extremely confused. "I have- just what do you mean damage control?! What could have happened over night?" I sat down in a stupor and mumbled to myself, "Seriously, what could have happened, involving me, overnight?" I shoved my face into my coffee and gulped half of it.

I quickly stood, leaving my cup and stormed into my bedroom to change. I couldn't quite figure out why I was so pissed at Gem. If this was deemed such a catastrophe than I'd much rather deal with Harry than his management. I shuddered at the thought. Not because they were bad people, but because he is their money maker. He pays their bills so they give no fucks about me. I stood in front of my closet and stared. _I have nothing to wear_. A ridiculous statement, since the closet was packed full. I stared for another few moments and then walked to the dresser.

I pulled light blue skinny jeans on over my bare legs and grabbed a halter top that matched my eyes. My hair looked messy but not in a bad way so I ran wet fingers through it a few times in the bathroom then added a little bit of mousse. I scrunched my fingers to accentuate the waves and was done. I looked at the left over make up from yesterday that I didn't completely wash off and quickly washed my face.

I walked back to the kitchen still barefoot and grabbed the cup, being careful to not spill it. Coffee replenished, I sat down after pulling my phone out of my pocket. Gem was on the phone speaking very quietly.

Talking to Harry then, ugh. 

For some reason I decided to pull up twitter. Holy hell. Good thing I had my notifications turned off. I glanced at Gem, still on the phone and started singing Taylor Swift's Shake it Off at a normal volume. She glanced at me and I smirked back. I had an okay singing voice but nothing very special. Hmm, maybe I'll play Style by Taylor Swift in about 10 minutes. That seems like a great plan. The smirk dropped off my face when I hit the link to a tabloid story that I was mentioned in on Twitter.

My eyes widened and I felt my jaw slack.

 

**_HARRY'S ALMOST BABY MAMA_ **

_Sources close to Aurora Griffith have said that her and Harry haven't spoken in over two years. In light of the new pictures circling social media, we did a little digging. It seems that while Ms Griffith and Mr Styles have not spoken in quite some time, there is quite a lot of evidence that the_ _friend_ _ship between Aurora and Gemma is continuing quite strongly._

_It breaks our hearts to tell you this, but according to sources close to Aurora Griffith, the fight started between her and our Harry after finding out she was pregnant with his child... while she was still in a relationship with an ex-boyfriend. Seems like he lucked out in escaping that, eh?_  
Sources also state that they believed Griffith had an abortion and played it off as a miscarriage. We do have evidence of time booked off work just over two years ago due to "health concerns" but who's to say what they were?   
Would you believe an abortion would cause Harry to stop speaking to her? Cause we sure do. We are searching for more information. Stay tuned.

 

"Oh. My. God." I breathed out and clutched my phone tightly in my hand and looked up at Gemma. Her phone was gone and her face looked pinched, she knew exactly what I saw. "How do they even have 'records'? Private HR records Gemma?! Oh god." I covered my face with my hands and felt the tears run.

"Oh darling," she moved over to me and ran her hands up and down my arms. There was another knock on the door and a sob escaped me. I moved my right hand to hold my mouth as I heard the door open. I couldn't even look up. I felt a large hand on my shoulder and another sob surged out and I quit being able to fight it. I hugged myself and hid my face.

The hand moved and I tried to hold the tears back to look, but I felt it wrap around my arm and pull me off of the stool. I ripped my arm out of his hand and flung my arms around his neck. A little 'oof' noise escaped his lips, I mumbled a quiet sorry and just held on. He must have thought I was trying to pull away from him because it took him a few seconds to respond, then his arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled up. When my feet left the floor I let out a small chuckle. My tears didn't completely disappear but were gone for now. I held him tighter and I felt the laugh rumble through his chest. "I missed you." I mumbled into his shoulder, then wanted to smack myself. "I missed you too." His voice shot right to my heart and I started to tear up again. I hadn't heard his voice in person for two freaking years, I think I'm allowed to tear up.

I pulled myself away a little quicker than Harry expected by the surprised look on his face. I kept my eyes either on Gemma or on Harry's chest. Such a nice chest. Dead Silence.

Ugh, this got so awkward so quickly. So I said the first thing on my mind, "I haven't cried that hard since the first time I watched Lilo & Stitch." Harry busted out laughing and I finally looked at his face. Damn it. Damn his stupid cute face. I looked over at Gemma and gave a sheepish shrug. Harry clapped his hands together still laughing, "I forgot you cried when we went to see that!" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't think I was the only one that cried..."I raised my eyebrows at him accusingly. "Shh, that was a secret." he mumbled running a hand through his short hair. I hate that he cut his hair, I much prefer the long hair. He's definitely still handsome, but he was absolutely adorable with the long hair.

"Secrets don't make friends  _Harold_." I informed as I walked to my abandoned coffee and gulped it down quickly, my emotions were everywhere so I hoped this would help settle everything. From the corner of my eye I could see Gemma looking between us and then Harry stuck his tongue out at me I grinned. "I really missed this you guys." Gemma admitted and a full smile lit up her face. Harry and I grinned at each other, and I knew.

I knew that everything would be okay. We would be alright, together. We'd come up with some solution to this entire PR disaster and maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to salvage our friendship.

I also realized in that moment...that I'm daft. I  _work_  for a PR company. This is my shit, the very definition of my job. Now, we just needed to find this so called 'source' and end them.

Reputation wise that is. 


	5. Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three! I'm really excited to see how everyone feels about this one! Thank you to everyone for reading, voting, and commenting. Please continue!! Cheers!

So I proceeded to do the worst thing that a boss could do.

Mandatory overtime. 

Within 30 minutes my living room was an office full of flurrying activity. Harry stayed even though I told him that Gemma could give him updates as we got details. One of the new employees, Brad, brought a large free standing whiteboard from the office. A young woman named Emma entered with a few others carrying stacks of coffee since my poor coffee pot would keep up with the steady supply and demand. There were about 15 people there now, including the three of us.

Harry was sitting at the bar on the outskirts of the living room, just sitting watching everyone mill about. Laptops covered every flat surface, phones in everyone's hands, tablets sitting around on the furniture. Most were sitting or standing and typing away.

I cleared my throat and waited to have all eyes on me. "Alright, so we have a PR situation involving Harry here." I stretched my arm out towards Harry and he flashed a grin with little wave, mumbling a quiet hello. 

"Doesn't he have management to handle this kind of thing?" Emma called from the sofa. I nodded, "Indeed, problem is that this little situation involves me." I looked over at Harry and gave him a small smile. "No offense to Harry's management but they care about him and only him. The best thing they could do is deny his involvement in anything and pin the blame on me." I paused and glanced at the white board. "So here's what we're up against." I proceeded to inform them of the degrading story, the lies about the abortion, and the so called secret relationship between me and Harry.

"So, basically all I need from you is to find some trace of who this source is and we can take it from there. So call in any favors, dig through social media, literally call or text anyone you think might be able to help. Just make sure that they can be trusted to be discreet. This is your first official assignment." I looked over all the faces and everyone seemed determined to succeed.   
"I also really need to thank each and every one of you. I know you don't have to be here, honestly. I whole-heartedly appreciate every minute you spend helping us with this problem." There were murmurs of 'no problem' and 'absolutely' from everyone and I grinned. "Please just let me know if and when you find anything." With that every one picked up a device and went to work.

I walked over and sat beside Harry on a stool as Gemma fluttered around the kitchen to make brunch for everyone. I smiled at her when her eyes met mine and she smiled back nodding at Harry. I rolled my eyes but my smile never left my face. I held my phone in my hand to stop my nervous fidgeting. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, "So did you have any ideas about what statement you want management to release?" I looked over to actually make eye contact with him.

"I figured you'd just give me a statement and demand that's what they release." his grin made my heart flutter and tingles settle in my stomach. I chuckled and looked away.  _Get a hold of yourself, you twat_. I put my phone down and rested my hands on my thighs after I turned toward him on the stool. My tongue stuck out of my lips, letting him know what I thought of his statement.   
He copied the way I was sitting and stuck his tongue out back. I rolled my eyes at him and grinned. "Seriously Harry, you don't seem too upset about this whole thing." I waved my hand around to signal I meant the 'squad' I had working. See what I did there? Why do I keep referencing freaking Swifty. He shrugged and put his hand on my arm just above my elbow. "I'm actually quite pissed," he gave my arm a little squeeze and I looked into his green eyes, suddenly realizing that he was quite pissed. The green in his eyes would darken both in anger and lust. I mean anger, just anger. I really have no idea about that last one.

"But it's really nothing I haven't been through before. I just hope we find out who it is. Though I'm pretty sure I already know." he mumbled the last sentence and I gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?" his eyes haven't left mine since we started talking and it was starting to really unnerve me.

Why did this make me feel so...weird. I know the last time we saw each other was very high on the emotional scale. We had a row and never settled it. But this was different. His eyes on me felt different than even when we were friends, like he could now somehow see my soul.

My soul was rejoicing, something deep inside me was thrilled by this feeling. Every other part of my body was screaming for me to escape. I was really tempted to go with the former. I was just so tired of running from him.

Everything I did for the past two years was to avoid him. Avoid his picture, his voice, his smile, his family even. God forbid he was in New York, I barely left the apartment. I was tired of it. So I just stared back into his eyes. Were they always so pretty? I don't even know what I'm thinking right now. What are thoughts?

"Aiden." that name coming out of his mouth was enough to send a noticeable shock through my body.

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that they didn't have  _something_  going on!" I heard the whisper and immediately shot up off the stool. I use "whisper" very loosely since apparently the whole room heard it. The sound of Gemma cursing behind me filled my ears but I ignored it and avoided looking at Harry. I walked up to the whiteboard and read the notes everyone made. People who we called, and the follow ups we were waiting on. 

I ran two fingers of my right hand over my lips. They had started tingling when I was next to Harry. How ridiculous. Then I realized I was doing the same thing Harry usually does with his lips and flung my hand down to my side and slid both hands in my pockets.

Some time later Ethan, the owner of the voice that whispered earlier, came up to me holding out his tablet. I took the device and glanced down at the email. "From an old friend who actually works for the tabloid." he informed as I started reading. "Shit." I cursed and had to sit down. The room halted and I felt all eyes on me. I quickly forwarded the email to my personal one and handed the tablet back to Ethan. I stood up, feeling anger settle in the pit of my stomach and creeping to flush up my neck and into my cheeks. "Everyone can head out. Take Monday off as well. Thank you again." I rubbed my hands together and looked at everyone as they slowly started to gather their things. I asked Brad to return the whiteboard which he agreed to.

Emma walked up to me, her bright blonde hair pulled back but stray hairs fluttered from her movement. "I can stay and help, if you'd like I mean." I put a hand on her shoulder and nodded, "Only if you'd like to, I don't want to take anymore of your personal time." She just smiled and went to help Gemma. Most people had already eaten so Emma helped Gem put everything away after I declined any food. I still hadn't spoken to anyone or gave reason as to why I sent everyone home. I entered the kitchen when everything was put away and grabbed a glass.

Glass full of water I leaned against the counter and kept my eyes down, "So Harry was right." I informed them.

"Aiden." he said his name like a curse. I nodded but tagged on, "He actually had some help in coming up with the story though." I pursed my lips and sighed making a raspberry noise come from my lips. I shot Gemma a look and she stared back for a moment with furrowed eyebrows and then they shot up and her mouth created a little circle. "Fuuuuck," she muttered. "Indeed." I drew out the first syllable and looked around at Harry and Emma. "Who?" she questioned looking between us. "Morgan." Gemma growled. I heard a muttered curse from Harry and finally made eye contact with him again. 

He had a strange look on his face and once I placed it I crossed my arms. "What happened?" he looked up at me with a sheepish look on his face. "I am so sorry!" the exclamation flew out of his mouth and he ran his fingers through his hair.

Gemma grabbed his arm, "What did you do Harry?!" he just shook his head and let out a short sigh and looked back at me. "Well she was at a, uh, function I was at a few weeks ago." he bit his lip and I was almost distracted, the ass. "And?" I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. "Well.." he trailed off and tried to defend himself. "Seriously! I was trying to be a good friend! I don't give a shit that we haven't talked in two years! After everything that happened between you two, I didn't give her the time of day." My shoulders slumped and I heard an 'aww' from the peanut gallery. I glared at Gem and Emma before I walked to Harry. "It's fine. Honestly. I thought you did something stupid like sleep with her." The look of disgust on his face made me laugh and he held the look which turned my laughter into giggles, especially when he started fighting a smile.

I smacked his arm, "Piss off Harold." He just grinned. "Look, I went with Niall-" I interrupted, "Yes, to a party not a function." His shrug was answer enough.

"Yeah well, she came up to me and tried to act like my best friend so, I don't want to say I ignored her, but I wasn't exactly talkative and I think I embarrassed her in front of her friends." a hand came up to rub the back of his neck and the sheepish look was back. 

Gemma gave him a quick hug to reassure him that he did the right thing. I agreed entirely and just nodded.

As I looked at them side by side and a small closed mouth smile crossed my face at the love they had for each other.

There was just one problem. I miss your long hair, damn it. Gemma snorted and my face flushed when I realized 3 pairs of eyes were on me, and I said that out loud. The heart melting smile on Harry's face was a confirmation and I clapped my hands, "So! How are we going to fix this then?" A loud bark of a laugh left Harry and I turned on my heel trying to ignore how warm my face was and how tight my stomach clenched with that sound. Everyone surrounded the bar as Emma went into details about how things should be handled. Harry's arm brushed mine and I bumped into him and looked out of the corner of my eye at him.

He ran a hand through his short, too short, hair and leaned over. His breath hit my ear and I shivered from the warmth. "There is still plenty to hold onto love." his muttered sentence did a few things to me. Simultaneously. I sucked in a quick breath, my hand flew down onto the counter with a crack and swatted my glass. It shattered on impact causing everyone else to jump.

Harry and I didn't move. His hip rested on the bar and his torso was still bent towards me, his tattoo covered hand rested on the counter beside mine. I looked up at him with wide eyes, his face was just a few inches away and I could smell his very distinctive apple and vanilla scent mixed with something that was just Harry. My lips parted and I watched as his pupils expanded. That soul reaching feeling came back.

"You should bottle that." I muttered. He made a little 'hmm' noise and I continued in a quiet voice, "Your smell. You should bottle it. You'd make a fortune." Gemma snorted loudly and I came crashing back down to earth. 

Well shit. I've been sucked back in. Already. It  _only_  took me over a year to forget about the little crush I had, and in about five minutes...it's baaaack.


	6. Four.

Later that night it was just Gemma and I sprawled across the couch watching trash TV. Our stomachs pleasantly full of take away and beers sitting on the coffee table that also propped our feet up.

We had already come up with a statement to release to the press, with the agreement that I would then post a brief explanation on my Twitter for my over 50,000 followers. Believe me, my twitter shot up in popularity so quickly I turned off all notifications.

"So that was...interesting." her voice was nonchalant, but I knew better.

"What?"

"You." I rolled my eyes at her. "I don't think I did anything that interesting." I denied her claim and gulped my beer.

Her eyes went wide in a fake besotted look, "Oh Harry, you smell so good," she drew in an overly exaggerated breath through her nose and clasped her hands together with a pleading look. "Take me to bed now, if you don't I'll just die."

A snort left my nose and I took another quick sip. "Dude! You didn't hear what he said to me!" The exclamation left Gemma in a fit of giggles that I couldn't help joining.

"That's because he had the decency to whisper that shit," I rolled my eyes at her yet again. "You didn't even realize you broke a glass! You were just in the zone." She did air quotes to emphasize the last three words. I knew I was already smitten with him again even after only a few hours. But did I have to admit he had stolen my heart again so soon? Never in your wildest dreams.

My cheeks heated and I hid my face in my palms. "Okay, okay." I conceded, "No, I absolutely did not realize that I broke that glass. You're his sister so if you really want I can tell-"

"No!" she interrupted. "No thank you."

Now it was my turn to grin at her in triumph. "I really have no idea what that was. It was like the past two years didn't happen to be honest." The admission left my stomach clenched in knots again. "I mean two years ago we made out, got in a fight about me being pregnant-" a sharp intake of breath made my eyes shoot to Gemma. The look of excitement was almost comical.

_Balls._

"Oh my god! You made out with my brother?!" she squeaked out the word brother and my hand slapped my forehead. This woman ships our non-existent relationship so hard!

"Yes! Yes, I made out with your brother. But," I tried to explain but was interrupted again.

"No buts! Oh I knew something else happened!" She clapped her hands and bounced in her seat like an over eager five year old.

"It was terrible..." I mumbled while crossing my arms. Seriously she's the captian of this ship.

"Ooo, is he that bad?"

"Hah!" I smacked her arm. "Absolutely not, the kissing was wonderful." a grin covered my face wide enough that my cheeks actually hurt. "The worst part was that a lot more would have happened if Jamie hadn't knocked on the door. And if I hadn't said I was pregnant. Seriously Gem, I thought Harry was going to spill his guts right there on the floor.

"He wouldn't let me touch him, like he was disgusted with me. Which I'm pretty sure he was. I was disgusted with myself. But I think that's why I was so," I couldn't think of the right word for my feelings about our fight.

"You were offended and hurt. But, I will say that Harry never said a word to me about it. He wouldn't talk to anyone, not me or mum. Definitely not Robin. I did hear him talking to Niall about it once a few months after it happened. He took the whole thing pretty hard. Especially since you wouldn't let me tell him anything." I could tell she was still quite bitter about that.

I just shrugged in response, not knowing what to say. Gem was the only one who knew what happened, I didn't even tell my parents. Actually, I really should call them since it was evening there. But I didn't have the will power for it at the moment.

"I didn't want anyone to know Gem." was the only response I had.

Once that subject was dropped we went back to discussing the making out. I told her, yes it was amazing. Yes it was a major factor in breaking Aiden and I up, aside from the other obvious reason. Did Aiden know about that? Kind of. He was always suspicious of Harry. Something I didn't understand at the time.

We chatted for a bit longer before Harry's beginning solo from "Drag Me Down" echoed through the living room. Gemma shot me an amused grin when I told her to shut it.

Mom & Dad calling....

"Fuuck." I mumbled, showing her the phone. She raised her brows and gave a one arm shrug like, what are you gonna do?

I answered quickly, "Hey baby!" the sound of my mothers voice made a warm feeling settle into my body. I realized it had been too long since I spoke with her. "Hello love!" my dad's voice sent tears pooling in my eyes. Lord, my emotions are everywhere today.

"Hey mum, hey dad. How's things?" I prayed that my voice sounded normal.

I heard my dad first, "Things are fine here," then my mom chimed in, "Yes, fine. How are you?"

We exchanged pleasantries and then my dad had to get off the phone to attend to some work things. Cue the interrogation. 'Work things' my ass, my dad was just avoiding the drama. Wish I could too.

"So, how are you really? I read the article. Well, actually your aunt emailed it to me." I put my head in my hand, still holding the phone in place with the other. "Which aunt?" the question was my shot at a distraction. But I had no such luck.

"Brenda. But that's not the point. I know you didn't have an abortion. But were you really pregnant? With  _Harry's_  child?"

I shook my head, "NO! I mean, yes I was 4 weeks pregnant but no it was not with Harry."

"Too bad." I coughed and laughed out, "What? Too bad?"

"Yes, too bad it wasn't Harry's. Means it was that...jerk Aiden's. Harry is really the much better choice." I nodded in agreement. "You will get no arguments from me there." I heard the smile in her voice. "Yes, he at least had the decency to call us about the article."

"He-he what?" I stuttered out, glancing at Gem to see a wide grin on her face. That bitch.

"Well he called a few hours ago to let us know that the situation was being handled and that they would take care to keep your reputation intact as well." she said this so matter of fact that I couldn't respond.

"Darling?" her worried voice snapped me out of my stupor.

"Mum," I couldn't believe I never asked about this before. I just assumed that once we stopped talking all other communications stopped. "How often do you and Harry talk?"

She made a small noise in the back of her throat before responding, "Mmm, every few weeks or so. Why?"

"Since when?"

"Since even when you were friends." I looked at Gem who shrugged. So I chatted with my mom now that everything was situated with the article. I didn't bring Harry up again and my mother didn't either. Though she gave me the gave me a nice little (big) lecture about informing her of important things such as a pregnancy. Once we said our 'I love you's and hung up I flopped back into the couch.

"He wouldn't let me say anything about that. He also asked your mum and dad not to either." Gem explained before I could even ask. I just nodded but said nothing.

I couldn't believe they kept in contact this whole time. It did reaffirm what I already knew, Harry was an awesome person. He had a very big heart. He didn't have to talk to them, he never would have seen them again since they live in a small town in the states now anyway. But he still went out of his way to check in on them. Then there's me, I avoided his parents. What does that say about me?

Gemma must have read my face like an open book, "It's fine love, mum and Robin know you love them. They also knew you were going through some shit." Her explanation really didn't make me feel better but I appreciated the effort.

After we finished a few more beers, but were far from completely drunk, Gemma decided it was time for her to get home. I offered for her to stay the night, but she declined saying she had to be up early tomorrow.

As she walked out the door her parting words were, "His number is still the same, ya know?"

And she slammed the door in my face. How rude.

I got dressed for bed in a soft tank top and men's boxer briefs, settled into bed and sent my employees a quick reminder to take tomorrow off. Then fiddled with a new text.

To: My Harry <3: So heard another rumor today...

I smiled at his contact in my phone. He put it in there like that years ago and every time I got a new phone I didn't have the heart to change it. I re-read the text a few more times then hit send.

I didn't even have to wait a minute for a reply.

From: My Harry <3: If it was about more illegitimate children, I'm all tapped out on child support. 

I snorted and started typing.

To: My Harry <3: Well I know nothing about all that, but apparently SOMEONE was in contact with my parents today.

From: My Harry <3: Oh no, was it a tabloid?

To: My Harry <3: No you wanker, you!

From: My Harry <3: Oh.

Ugh, this was frustrating. I laid in bed staring for a few minutes at the text before I bit the bullet.

Calling My Harry <3...

"Hello darling." He breathed into the phone after the second ring, his voice was raspy like he was almost asleep. My heart came alive and started thumping in my chest like it was trying to escape. "Twat." Came my witty response and I wanted to slap myself.

His chuckle warmed me from the chest out and settled into my stomach like a knot.

"Well that's not very nice!" We laughed together and I sighed into the phone.

"Do you really talk to my parents every few weeks?" My question was met with silence and suddenly I felt silly asking. Of course he did.

"I talk to mum a bit more than your dad, but usually yes." I could hear the smile in his voice and I just wanted to melt into the bed.

I cleared my throat, "Well...thank you."

"What for?" the disbelief in his voice made me scoff.

"For keeping in contact with them."

Since I didn't keep in contact with your parents, but that went left unsaid.

"Of course. I felt weird doing it at first, but then it became a regular thing. If I didn't call for over a month then mum would call me." he divulged. "I wish I would have stayed in contact with your mum and Robin of course. I actually cried my eyes out when I saw them yesterday." I spoke quietly and shifted in the bed.

"I heard," he paused and I heard him breathe in deeply after a soft rustling. "Mum was bloody pleased to see you. Her and Robin haven't stopped talking about you." the warmth in his voice pulled at something in my stomach and I chuckled a bit.

"That's brilliant. I was so happy to see them."

His tone changed when he spoke next, "I heard you couldn't leave fast enough."

I stuttered, "No, well I had-" I cleared my throat. "Okay, I can't lie. I was trying to avoid you."

"Hah!" he yelled into the phone. "I knew it! Am I that terrible?!" His voice came out small and I knew he was actually worried about the answer.

"What, no! It's just, well.." I let out a questioning noise and tried to explain. "I had just seen them for the first time in two years and I know you don't get to visit a whole lot. I didn't want us to get into an argument or anything during your visit. So I left." My voice was very matter of fact and I hoped he understood.

He did, luckily. We chit chatted for a bit then he made me promise to go out for brunch with him and Gemma tomorrow, which I agreed to.

"You know I miss you right?" His question was enough of a shock that I gasped. "Well, I missed you too," I replied.

"Good. So are we going to talk about what happened earlier?"

I had to think about what we needed to discuss.

"At your house. There may have been a broken glass involved. Ringing any bells there love?" he explained and I laughed.

"Nope, no discussion needed. At all." I insisted in a high pitched voice, I was just trying to forget it ever happened.

"Well, I'd like to talk about it," his voice was deeper than usual and I imagined him biting his lip.

A small groan left my lips and I immediately flushed red and let out an awkward laugh. "What exactly do you feel needs to be talked about?"

A satisfied chuckle sounded through the phone, "How about how I made you forget where you were."

I scoffed, "Well that's nothing new Harry."

The surprise in his voice was evident, "Oh?"

God, I have a big mouth. "No, that's not exactly what I meant. Okay it is." I let out a sigh and tried to defend myself. "I didn't realize I said that out loud." I admitted after stuttering out a few broken sentences.

The smirk could be heard in his voice when he admitted, "Honestly, I really  _really_  like that I can make you zone out like that."

I was pretty sure my heart stuttered and ceased to beat for a moment before thundering so fast I felt tingles in my fingers from the increased blood flow. "Why do you like that so much?"

I could just picture him rolling his eyes at me, "Well, not a whole lot has changed for me in two years. Maybe it's because I think you're adorable."

Well... that was not the awkward Harry Styles I remember from when he used to try to chat girls up, that's for damn sure. 


	7. Five.

"Oh God, I'm going to be sick!" I was leaning forward with my palms flat on the sink, looking in the mirror and talking to myself. What a great way to start my morning.

The statement was released by Creative Artists Agency first thing and I could only imagine that all the gossip mags were running through it with a fine toothed comb. I clicked on one link and skimmed the article until I found the statement.

_"In response to the recent rumors CAA has released the following statement._

_'Harry and his close family friend Aurora Griffith did have a falling out two years ago for personal and private reasons. There was no pregnancy involving Harry Styles. After being given exclusive access to the real medical records of one Aurora Jane Griffith, she was seen in a local OBGYN's office for a miscarriage that occurred just four weeks into her pregnancy. This was a very emotional time for Ms. Griffith and we ask the public and Harry's fans to please grant her the privacy this emotional experience deserves. They are currently trying to repair their friendship which has spanned from the time Harry was 15 until two years ago. Again we ask the fans and public to respect the privacy of these two individuals.'_

_Instead of printing our speculations, we want to hear from you! Post your comments to Twitter using the hashtag..."_

"Sweet Jesus, they didn't even print a whole article about it." I mumbled again. I had a sick feeling that this was not going to be received the way we planned.

A ding startled me and I saw a text from Gemma.

From: Gemma <3: YES! The fans are totally siding with you guys! They are absolutely trashing the gossip mag that posted the story!

I breathed out a huge sigh of relief and knew that the rest would fall into place, hopefully, when I posted on my twitter. I sent a quick thank you to Gem for letting me know and got dressed for brunch.

I went with black skinny jeans and a long pink rose colored cold shoulder top that had cream accents. It hugged my body tightly but was amazingly soft. I slipped my feet into a pair of cream colored peep-toe ankle boots that had lovely lace patterns cut into the leather. I drew in a deep breath, finally feeling a bit more like myself now that I was ready and didn't have this extra weight hanging over my head. I had on my war paint and armor. Plus these shoes looked freaking fantastic with these jeans!

My phone dinged again but this time it was Harry.

From: My Harry <3: Here. Paps followed, we lost them but hurry <3

My butterflies felt as large as parrots as they fluttered and I flew about the house, placing my phone and keys in a clutch before locking the door and strutting to the car. Hey, if paps are going to be taking photos I might as well look nice in them.

I reached the car and Paul opened the back door for me. Quickly, I hopped into the car and smiled at Paul in thanks when he shut the door. I gave Harry a quick hug and chatted to both him and Paul during the drive.

Nothing really eventful happened until we ended up at the, admittedly, fairly upscale café. I knew I would never have come here if it wouldn't have been for Harry.

The paps has to have been scattered around the city at different locations that celebrities frequent since there were a few waiting outside. Gemma was the only other person that knew where we'd be and she'd definitely never say anything. As soon as the black SUV stopped the flashes started.

I grabbed Harry's hand for reassurance and he held mine with both of his hands, "Ready?" I nodded and he let go, but I took my time getting out. With a deep breath I opened the door and Paul took over, helping me out as Harry followed.

They were actually being respectful and weren't in our faces but they were shouting questions left, right, and center. We kept our heads down until we settled at a private table in the loft area of the café.

"That was utterly ridiculous." I admitted and grabbed the drinks menu. I don't care if it was only 11 in the morning, I needed a glass of wine. I completely forgot how intense the paps were.

"I know, I'm sorry. I think they figured out we'd make a public appearance today since the statement was released." He also grabbed the drink menu and we agreed to have a bottle of some white wine I couldn't pronounce. The waiter was back with our wine in under two minutes, I swear.

I thanked him excessively when he brought the wine but he just smiled and took our food orders.

Once he left Harry spoke again, "Don't forget, no flirting today. We don't need any more rumors about us."

I gave Harry an incredulous look, "Seriously? I think you need to look in the mirror when making that statement Mr. Styles." I mumbled and took a large drink from my glass. He let out a laugh that made me smirk at him. His hand came across the table and I pulled my hand back, looking around. "You ass!" I whisper shouted at him. "You're just trying to wind me up aren't you?!"

My demand was met with a grin and a wink.

Dead.

That's me, I am dead. Bury me now.

I scoffed at him and finished my glass of wine. We went back to friendly chatting until our food arrived and we ate with sparing conversation.

Once we finished I felt a lull in conversation that wasn't quite awkward but was speeding in that direction.

"Thank you," he looked up and tilted his head to the side with a confused half smile on his face. "Thank you for bringing me here. And for giving me control of the rumor situation." I explained. He wiped his lips with his thumb and index finger before he spoke.

"Absolutely, thank you for agreeing to come." his voice emphasized the last word and I kicked him under the table which made him jump. The amused look on his face made me laugh and I couldn't help but finally feel like our friendship was back on track. Harry has always been a little perv, but it has always made me laugh.

"I actually told CAA that you were going to handle everything. I knew you could handle it and I figured it was your right. The rumors about me suck, but I can bounce back from that. If the media ran with that story any further your professional reputation could have been ruined. Which is just the double standards of our time unfortunately." he rambled and looked up to meet my eyes when he was finished.

I knew I had this stupid besotted look on my face but I could do nothing about it. I reached over to give his hand a quick squeeze, "Thank you for being an amazing human being Harry. Honestly."

If I wasn't mistaken he had a similarly besotted look on his face. Nope, that must have been the lighting in here. Yeah, the lighting.

We discussed the past two years over desert. I told Harry about my job, the lack of dating in my life since Aiden, how there were many times I wish I would have had the guts to call him. He told me about writing, how much more he loved it now; he told me about a few failed relationships he's had, how proud of the album he is, and how many times he almost called me while he was writing for the album.

We leaned together over the table with our empty dishes and wine glasses, snapped a quick selfie with our cheeks pressed together and smiles lighting up our faces. We took a few more silly ones when I decided to lean over to press a kiss to his cheek and he grinned, but right before I hit the button I licked his face. His look of horror in that picture sent me into hysterics for quite a few minutes.

When I finally calmed down I had to wipe tears off of my face, giggles still escaped my mouth every few minutes. I knew people were staring at us but I didn't really care. And poor Harry was used to it by now.

I decided now was the perfect time to post something to twitter while I was still feeling light and happy from the laughter.

Harry went to the restroom so I was free to use my phone. I decided a thread on twitter was the best way to do this. 

@AJGrif: Thank you @CAA for your TRUTHFUL statement.

@AJGrif: I appreciate the well wishes and all of you sending msgs full of your love and support, that was an extremely difficult time in my life. I appreciate all the love from you xx

@AJGrif: As women we are unfortunately victims of a double standard in todays society, thank you again to all the #realpeople for the support.

@AJGrif: a HUGE sincere thank you to all @HarryStyles fans! The support from you has been just heart warming.

@AJGrif: Also a HUGE thank you to @MamaTwist @RobinTwist @GemmaStyles and of course @HarryStyles for continuing to be a part of my extended fam and lending me all the support in the world.

Lastly I posted a picture of Harry and I today at lunch where I licked his face,

@HarryStyles Working on our friendship today. I think it's going quite well! He might disagree though.

Harry came back and I grinned at him, he had his phone in his hand so I knew he saw the posts. "Did you really  _have_  to use that picture?" he complained as he sat down.

I stuck my tongue out at him, "Absolutely!"

He tried to grab my phone but I snatched it away just in time. "Fine!" he crossed his arms and pretended to pout.

"Pout all you want Harry, paws off my phone!" I glanced up at him to see his eyes roll but then a smirk covered his face. "Just the phone?" He clarified.

"Harry!" I laughed at his dirty mind.

"At least send me some of the pictures then." he grumbled and I set to sending all of today's selfies.

His phone chimed with the texts and he started taping away. I pretended to be interested in my phone but was watching him through my eyelashes.

My phone chimed and I jumped, Harry snorted at me but I pretend I didn't hear. I pulled the notification up and saw that Harry posted something to twitter.

It was one of the selfies from today, one where we actually stood side by side and in the classic facebook selfie fashion. Harry had to take this picture to get the angle right and he had his arm around my shoulders holding me close while I had mine around his hips. The picture was actually a really good one, we both had dressed for the occasion and had obviously happy smiles on our faces.

@HarryStyles: @AJGrif Should be everyone's #friendshipgoals

"Aww that was a really good one Harry." I told him with a smile and turned the screen off on my phone after I re-tweeted and liked.

"I thought it was the one we looked the happiest in." he said honestly.

"Actually, I think we looked really happy in all of them." I disagreed. "This is just the only one we were hugging in. Oh. Okay, I guess we did look happier." I finally agreed when I realized that's why he posted this one. The other ones could have looked a little coupley. With the kissing, only cheeks you pervs!

We were finishing up our second bottle of wine after paying when Harry's phone rang, he glanced at it and answered quickly muttering a 'sorry' to me. I shook my head and waved for him to continue.

"Hi mum," you could just hear the love in his voice as he answered the phone. I smiled and did a little finger wave signaling him to tell Anne hello for me. He relayed the message and she said hello back. Their conversation moved on and I tried not to listen, but sitting at the same table made that difficult. After a few moments he said I love you and hung up.

"Fancy going to see mum and Robin?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows, "You mean I'm not free of you yet? I was hoping to make a quick get away after this." I muttered and winked at him.

He stood quickly and moved to leave me there, "Harry!" I called at him. He turned around and plainly said, "I thought you wanted to be rid of me?"

I stood up and with a hard smack to his arm we made our way towards the door. Paul appeared behind us which made me feel much safer. Harry bumped his shoulder against mine and we continued this back and forth until we reached the door where Paul stepped ahead of us and went out first. I hadn't realized how many paps and fans showed up while we were eating. I heard Harry apologize to the hostess on our way out and we smiled at each other. God, He's so fucking sweet. The amount of voices was a little overwhelming and I felt my eyes widen, Harry went ahead of me and was just utterly swarmed. Paul came behind me and grabbed my arm to pull me through. "What? Paul! Go get Harry!" I had to yell over the fans and photographers. He just shook his head and I knew this must have been planned.

Damn it Harold.


	8. Six.

If only I'd known exactly how much was planned.

Harry and I had spent the rest of Monday with Anne and Robin, which was amazing. It felt like when we were teenagers again. We all just hung out and goofed off, sang a bit of karaoke and spent our time getting reacquainted.

My head jerked up and I realized I had zoned out in my office, I scanned my eyes at the faces I could see through the windows and felt immense relief that no one noticed. Honestly though, it would not have been the first time today.

Hanging out with just Anne and Robin with Harry was something I had many fond memories of during school. Usually Gemma was out with older friends during that time so Harry and I spent a lot of time together.

Then the X-factor happened and he never came home.

Don't get me wrong, that was an amazing thing for Harry. He totally and completely deserved it. But I would cry to his mom in the months following because I missed my best friend and because I was 17 and everything was the end of the world to me.

At 17 all I knew was that I supported my best friend and talked him into auditioning with help from his family, after that I could barely get a phone call.

Mentally as an adult, I understand that his life changed in an instant. Emotionally as a teenager I felt like I was emotionally invested in someone who didn't care.

Obviously we got past that. I think the residual feelings from that time might have influenced the two year silence. On my part anyway.

Yes, I am a grown ass woman and I will admit that even subconsciously my emotions can get the best of me. But I am a grudge holder, it's in my nature. I admire people like Harry who just don't have that particular feature in their genetic makeup.

I finally snapped out of it when Emma entered my office. I hadn't seen or spoken to her since she was at my home so I called out a happy greeting to her.

"It appears that everything was received by the fanbase very well." she informed in an overly professional voice.

"That's great! I'm so thrilled! All of our tweets went over well then?" I had to ask since I was absolutely terrified of twitter at the moment.

"It was great!" Emma gushed, quickly coughed and continued, "The hastag #friendshipgoals was trending and still is. Your tweet and Harry's with the pictures were the most shared twitter posts for the day, and the week isn't over yet." her voice was almost back to normal now.

Her enthusiasm rubbed off on me, I quickly went around the office and closed the door and all of the blinds. "Emma," I started, standing in front of her and putting my hands on her shoulders. "Are you a Directioner?" I asked quickly, hoping I was right in my assumption.

"YES!" She yelled and started jumping. I jumped with her and yelled, I could understand her excitement. Harry just talking made me want to jump around like this sometimes.

"How did you like meeting him the other day?" I asked after we finally stopped jumping to catch our breath.

She squeezed me into a tight hug, "I love you! Thank you thank you thank you!" she squeezed me again and I clung to her just as tight.

"Thank you for your help!" I squeezed her again and let go.

I quickly sat back down and held my hand out towards another chair so she would join me.

We sat and chatted for a bit before she asked me something I could tell had been bothering her for quite some time. "So, Who's Morgan? If you don't mine me asking."

I gave her a pained grimace, "Long story short she used to be my best friend before I moved here. I actually grew up in a small town in the states and moved here when I was 15," she nodded for me to continue and I started to fidget with my fingers. "She came to stay with us during her summer one year, this is right after One Direction. And needless to say she was definitely trying to use me as a stepping stone into their beds." I saw her eyes widen and I shrugged.

"Honestly I can't blame her for that, they are a bunch of great looking lads. But she flat out used me. Then tried to turn all of my friends I had here against me." It was a very brief explanation but would have to do. I tried my best to never think about her at all.

"So she just went home then?" Emma blurted then gave me a shy look.

I shrugged, "Yeah, but she kept coming back every summer until graduation. My parents loved her, so I tried to just handle it myself but once her shit started affecting my actual reality, I hit her."

Emma gasped and I grinned, "Broke her fucking nose actually."

We high fived and Emma decided it was time to head back to her office, I agreed hoping I could finally focus and get some of my work done today after I opened the blinds.

Just then my desk phone rings and I quickly glance to see its half noon. I need to really start working today. With a shake of my head, I answer the phone.

"Ms. Griffith, there is someone here to see you. Should I send them in?" the receptionist, Janice asked in a weird voice. I had her send them in and I quickly shuffled papers around my desk to make it look a little messy. Hopefully it looked like some work was done here today.

When someone knocked I just said a quick "Come in." and kept puttering about the desk to make myself look busy.

When I looked up I dropped a huge file on the floor.

"Niall?!" I asked in a shocked voice, not believing my eyes.

His wide smile showed his teeth and he held a bouquet of daisies in his hand. "Holy shit! I haven't seen you in years!" I stood up and he held his arms out, we hugged each other tight and he passed me the flowers.

"I was really sorry to hear about everything that happened AJ." he spoke with a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. I just nodded and water pooled in my eyes. ""Aww," he pulled me into another hug, afterwards I asked him to sit down as I placed the flowers in a vase.

"How have you been?" I finally asked as I settled down. "Good, really good." he explained what all he had been up to since the break and I congratulated him on his coming album.

We chit chatted for a bit and I noticed that the office was finally starting to move with normal activity, my bosses will not be happy about the lack of productivity today.

"So why didn't you tell us?" Niall blurted and I snorted.

"Niall, I love you and all the guys but you all were dealing with a bunch of stuff with Zayn. I didn't even tell Harry, just Gem. And then I moved on. It happened for a reason and I'm okay with that." I tried to explain in a way that didn't seem unemotional but I had been talking about this for months, well, it felt like months anyway. "I really appreciate the flowers though, that was so sweet." He flashed another smile and said he had to head out. I decided I'd walk with him to the lobby.

We did stop by Emma's desk, and I discovered that Niall must have been her favorite. She held together really well in front of Harry but lost her shit with Niall.

"She's pretty sexy. When she's not screaming that is." Niall admitted when we walked away.

I bumped him with my elbow and wiggled my eyebrows, "I can hook you up man, just say the word!"

We laughed about it but he said he'd think about it and get back to me. Mentally I crossed my fingers for Emma.

Once we reached the lobby we gave each other a tight hug and Niall kissed my cheek in a brotherly way. "Oh, by the way, a few paps were wandering around outside when I got here. Maybe have a security guard walk you to your car later, yeah?" Niall added as an after thought. I just nodded and hugged him quickly again, "I really did miss you ya know? I'm glad you stopped by."

I could understand why his smile brought girls to tears, but my heart was with Harry.

I mean - my heart is a free agent and has no ties to anyone, and Niall is like a brother anyway.

I finally got back to work after Niall left, only interrupted once by a tweet.

@HarryStyles: And I know she'll be the death of me, at least we'll both be numb. And she'll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come.

@HarryStyles: I can't feel my face when I'm with you, but I love it.

I absolutely loved this song, so I retweeted it and set back to work while listening to Walk Off The Earth's cover.

On my way home that evening I had the radio on scan to find something good to listen to. Then I heard my name, "whaat?!" I mumbled to myself and turned it back.

"Well after the dust had settled over the Harry Styles baby rumors, fans were behind AJ all the way. There are even a few new fan twitters popping up and shipping them together." The radio DJ made a clicking noise into the Mic and continued, "That is until the photos of her and Niall almost broke the internet today. They were shown in a very intimate embra-"

I slapped my hand on the button to shut the radio off. I hit the steering wheel with a fist and wanted to slam my forehead against it but restrained myself. Probably wasn't the safest thing to do while driving anyway.

My phone rang but I didn't even look at it, just tapped the side button to silence the ringtone. Whoever it was called again. And again. And again.

So I turned it off.

Inside my house I locked the doors and shut the curtains. I only turned on lights out of necessity, I was just going to ignore the situation and pretend I wasn't even home. Easy peasy.

With leftovers eaten, I decided to take a bath.

When I finally settled in the tub I had about four candles lit and no lights on. It was just me, silence, and some good smelling candles.

I wasn't sure what to do now, maybe if we had let the other rumor settle instead of addressing it - things would be different. Now everyone is so focused on what I'm doing I can't even hug a friend goodbye that I haven't seen in over two years. Last time I was around the 1D guys things seemed a lot easier. I guess at the time I was used to it and we made sure not to go out in public together. Not that I hung out with all of them a whole lot. Usually it was Harry and one or two of the other boys, Niall and Louis the majority of the time. But I still knew Liam and Zayn - just not as well.

After trying and then failing to enjoy my bath I got ready for bed. Eventually I got in bed and covered up, finally turning on my phone.

30 text messages  
15 missed calls

All from Harry, Gemma, and Niall. Greaaat.

Niall called again and I decided to answer it so Niall could at least pass on the message that I was alive.

"Hello." My voice came out monotone and depressed sounding.

"Aurora, I am so sorry! I had no ide-" Niall started to apologize but I cut him off.

"Honestly Niall, it's not your fault. I didn't even think people would really care if I hugged you. Apparently they do, lesson learned." I spoke very matter of fact and I could hear the concern in Niall's voice when he responded, "The problem is, I knew better. I know how the photographers are. Are you okay?"

I scoffed, "I'm fine Niall, really. I just think it's pathetic that you get criticised for hugging friends. Suddenly you are breaking someone's heart or you're leading someone on. It's just the whole media circus, I kind of forgot what it was like for you guys." I tried to explain what I felt and I hope Niall understood that I wasn't mad at him at all.

"I mean, I work in this industry. I fight rumors and speculation all day, I help people put their best foot forward. I just forgot what it's like to be on the receiving end of it." I paused for a second and had to giggle as I added on, " Remember that one time a pap caught a picture of me and Harry, suddenly there were all these rumors about some 'mysterious brunette' that had stolen his heart or whatever. Utterly ridiculous."

Now Niall scoffed at me, "What?"

"You are so oblivious, it's actually sad." The disbelief in his voice was palpable.

"Oblivious to what?"

"The fact that Harry has been in love with you for years. He only just admitted it to himself when you all stopped talking."

Okay, I knew Niall spent a lot of time with Harry when they were younger. But he was definitely confused. I mean it's one thing when Gemma swears he has feelings for me, but now Niall? Harry Styles could have any woman he wanted. He dated freaking Taylor Swift for God's sake. She was a blonde bombshell. I'm pretty ordinary, I know I have a decent body and face but he could have Victoria's secret models hanging off his arm for life. Being in love with me doesn't exactly seem logical. My feelings aside, Harry could do much better than me.

"He's completely oblivious to how you feel too, so don't feel bad." Niall's voice was mumbled but dread still pitted in my stomach and the air left my lungs.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

I heard a quiet curse on the other line and Niall quickly said, "Look, I have to go. Harry's here, I'll let him know your good, okay?"

We said our goodbyes and I felt complete and utter horror tingle up my spine. How many of the other guys knew how I felt? Did all of them? Had they told Harry before? Was I a regular topic of conversation in the band before the hiatus?

Needless to say, it was many hours before I drifted off to sleep.


	9. Seven.

I woke up with residual embarrassment weighing down my limbs. I moved slower with no bounce in my step at all. Dressing myself in all black to signify the mourning of my reputation. Again.

Everyone's text or calls still went unanswered other than Niall, which was a theme I was trying to extend for a while.

As I sipped my coffee this morning, the handle cracked off the mug. Oh yeah, thank you karma, like I wasn't already feeling your wrath.

Work moved at a snail's pace. Lunch passed just as uneventfully and listlessly as the rest of the day. Except that as I strolled down the hallway to the break room, the heel snapped on my shoe.

Indeed, there was a small crack in it. Apparently, extra stress caused it to break. Familiar theme here, eh? Thank god I had extra shoes in my office.

Yes, there were plenty of whispers around the office that day. The only one who really treated me normally was Emma, because - and I quote "I saw the chemistry between you and Harry, no way you're going after Niall." Thank you Emma.

By closing time I had actually accomplished enough to cover for my lack of productivity yesterday, and then some.

With my stuff all packed up I swung my purse over my shoulder. By the time I reached the parking area my phone rang twice so I unzipped my purse to grab it.

"Yes?" I answered, trying to zip my bag and had to remove it from my shoulder due to a stuck zipper.

"Hello love" a deep velvety voice answered.

Two things happened, simultaneously.

I squeaked and at the same time pulled the zipper which ripped straight off the bag and sent all of my belongings to the ground.

"Fuck me! Are you even serious right now?" I groaned and dropped to the ground to pick up scattered make up, pens, tampons - regular purse items, ya know.

Absolute hysterical laughter starts behind me and I turn to see both Harry and Niall holding each other. Tears streaming down their faces as they tried to keep each other from falling. I didn't see the amusement.

"Oh, lovely." I muttered as I crossed my arms and waited for the laughter to stop while tapping my foot.

Waited.

Still waiting.

When they finally got a grip on themselves, I stood up with all of my belongings back in my bag. I stomped straight up to Harry, "This is all your fault!" I poked his chest for emphasis and Harry briefly had a horrified look on his face until they collapsed again. 12-year-olds I tell you.

I felt my whole body slump, I needed a pick me up.

So I kicked Harry, right on the shin and snorted when he yelled like a girl. Niall thought that was even funnier than my broken zipper.

I kicked him in the shin too. Then I had to lean into Harry for support when Niall almost tripped over a pothole.

I did a slow clap for Niall that Harry joined in on and I flicked both of them off.

"Yes please." Harry raised his hand and I back handed him in the stomach. Not very hard, but just enough to hurt.

"I am so not in the mood Harold." I muttered and started walking to my car.

He groaned behind me and I was free to smile with my face hidden from view. "Dually noted. Rain check then." He muttered.

I heard Niall groan at him and a swift hit land on Harry's arm. I made it to the car and dropped my bag inside.

"So what do you lot want?" I asked when I turned around.

"To take you to dinner." Niall was the one that spoke.

"Both of you? I feel like Katy Perry on Ellen." I muttered. Niall covered his mouth to hold in his laugh.

"Only difference is Katy didn't choose either one of you, did she?" I quipped. Niall muttered something about needing ice for a burn to Harry.

I turned back around to lock the car and started walking in the direction they had come from.

"Well come on then! I need to eat my feelings!" Finally I heard their foot steps behind me and felt an arm settle on my shoulders. Harry's arm, tattoos were a dead give away.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" I whisper yelled at him. "Uhm, no?" came his very eloquent answer. I looked from him to his arm a few times until he got the point and dropped it. I saw Paul standing not too far away and I sprinted to beat the boys there. I gave Paul a quick hug and hopped in the back of the car first. The boys followed in, arguing who got middle. They decided rock paper scissors was the best way to decide.

Once they said "Rock, paper-" Harry took his fist and punched Niall in the shoulder and dove into the car.

I rolled my eyes at their antics. I actually appreciated them being here for me on such a crappy day, it was a nice distraction.

We arrived at some upscale restaurant that I definitely wasn't dressed for but they didn't mind considering who I was there with. Once seated, me in the middle this time, we ordered champagne and perused the menu.

The boys were fighting over something trivial like the color of the table cloths?

FYI Harry they were burgundy, not maroon. Point to Niall.

Eventually we ordered our meals and settled into a comfortable conversation about nothing and everything. It was actually just what I needed. I already felt less stressed.

Once we ate we hung out and got a bit more intoxicated than planned. We weren't completely sloshed because we knew paps were likely to be waiting when we left, but we were still a lot louder than we would have been otherwise.

Harry and Niall graciously took photos when fans came up to the table, but for the most part we were left alone. There were a few fans that actually wanted a picture with all three of us, I felt a little uncomfortable but was a pretty good sport about it and the fans were just so caring and sweet.

Niall's body guard actually decided to meet us at the restaurant because apparently there were a ton of paps and fans there waiting for us to leave.

"It's so weird how good they have been at finding you guys lately," I told Niall when Harry slipped away to the bathroom.

"Correction, they have been remarkably good at finding you and Harry!" Niall was reduced to giggles and I moved the champagne bottle on the other side of the table away from him.

Niall was right though. Whenever Harry and I were together the paps were out in force and the fans not long behind.

I smiled at Harry as he sat down and signaled to him that Niall was officially cut off. So of course he had to get Niall really going and was telling his stupid jokes making everyone around us look at our table.

But I wasn't laughing, a weird feeling settled in my stomach but I didn't know what it was. I glanced around the restaurant focusing on the people around us and nothing immediately stood out as weird.

That's when Niall's words played through my head.

_"They have been really good at finding you and Harry!"_

Over and over again.

I went pale and held my stomach.

"Oi, you're not going to be sick are you?" Harry leaned towards me to ask and I just shook my head.

He wouldn't.

Absolutely not.

No chance in hell.

I looked out the window and saw the fans and the flashes from the paparazzi.

The little voice in the back of my head whispered,  _he did._

I shook my head, still not believing it. Paps are everywhere anyway.

Harry's house.

Our brunch.

My work.

Tonight.

But, Harry wasn't at my work when Niall visited me. So no, he couldn't have. Harry's arm was on the back of my chair and I leaned forward, for once not wanting his skin to touch mine.

A few minutes later someone that Harry knew came to the table and he stood to talk to them. I wasn't sure who it was, faces were just a blur to me. Everything was a blur as my emotions warred within me.

Quickly I leaned over to Niall, "Hey, by chance, uhm...did Harry know you were coming to visit me at my work the other day?" I asked quietly.

He nodded and my stomach tried to expel all its contents, only by sheer force of will did I hold everything down.

"I had to call him and ask what your favorite flower was because I had forgotten. But shhh, it's a secret!" He put his finger to his lips and I shot up out of my seat.

"Bathroom." I muttered not really seeing anything when Harry tried to stop me.

Once I reached the bathroom I stumbled to the sink, and not because of the alcohol.

A splash of cold water to my face helped steady my breathing but not my stomach. I felt like I couldn't breathe, I could only take short shallow breaths.

I stared at my eyes in the mirror and saw the tears falling without feeling them. I kept staring and breathing, counting each breath. By the time I very slowly reached 75 I could breathe a little easier. At least I didn't feel like I was hyperventilating. I splashed more cold water on my face and wiped it off with a paper towel being careful to get any smudges. The last thing I needed in the tabloids was me crying after this dinner.

With one last glanced in the mirror to confirm that the redness was gone from my eyes, I headed towards the table.

Servers sped throughout the restaurant around me but I moved slow, taking my time to gather more of my wits. Once I reached the table I grabbed my phone, briefly noticed that Niall's body guard, Tom, was there with Paul and I spun on my foot and went to leave out of the back of the restaurant.

An 'Oi' and 'Hey' echoed through the restaurant behind me and I tried to walk faster. I almost reached the kitchen and Harry grabbed my arm halting me on the spot.

"What?" I whispered but didn't turn towards him. I shrugged my arm away from him and crossed my arms.

"What hap-what's going on?" Harry fumbled for his words and my stomach sunk even further.

"I just need to get home."

I felt his fingers barely brush my shoulder and I spun around towards him and side stepped his hand.

"Hey, whats going on love?" He looked so concerned that I felt sick. That lying asshole. I don't know what happened to the boy I fell in love with years ago, but that is not the same man in front of me today.

Paul walked up behind Harry so, thankfully, I wasn't able to respond. "I think we need to head out, seems like the crowd is getting really restless." Harry and I nodded.

I still hugged myself as I started walking behind Paul and Harry didn't try to touch me again.

Niall, Harry, and I walked out flanked by Paul and Tom. The entire crowd went absolutely crazy. There was pushing, pulling, screaming, and I swear someone tried to rip my shirt but I just kept moving with Paul.

Paul maneuvered me into the SUV with Harry getting in behind me. Niall must have his own car here now, wonderful. I sat against the door opposite Harry and leaned my head against the window after we pulled away.

Harry scooted over and put his arm around me, immediately my body stiffened. "Please don't." I told him quietly.

It took him a few minutes of trying to lean forward to see my face before he shifted over in the seat and pulled his arm away from me. His stare burned my skin and I barely felt it leave my body for what felt like hours.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "What Harry?"

He clapped his hands on his thighs, "What's wrong Rory?"

I finally looked at him and I still had doubts in my mind. I rested my head on my fist and thought my answer through. The best way to get the truth out of Harry is to ask him.

"Harold," I started and turned towards him and waited until he turned towards me.

"Were you the reason the paparazzi has been everywhere we were? Did you tell them Niall was going to be at my work?" I paused for a breath and asked the real question I wanted an answer to, "Did you just  _use_ me for some publicity stunt?" 


	10. Eight.

The silence in the vehicle was deafening.

My eyes never left his face and I saw an array of emotions flit across before blending into the next. Surprise, horror, embarrassment, and panic were just a few.

I sat staring at him feeling equal parts infuriated and revolted. My stomach tried to evacuate its contents again and I slammed my hand against the window.

It was either that or scream.

"Pull over." I told Paul in a surprised voice. I could not come to terms with my emotions right now. I am astonished. I am enraged. I am vulnerable. Hidden under all of that I feel so very very alone.

Even though we hadn't spoken in years, he was still Harry.  _This_  just wasn't Harry and it terrified me how isolated I felt.

I am a lonely island in the Bermuda Triangle.

Harry is the ocean surrounding me.

And I'm drowning.

I need out. Now.

"Pull over!" I said a little louder causing Paul to look up at me this time.

Harry started talking at the same volume so I screamed, "PULL OVER!"

My breathing was labored and burned my throat every time I sucked air in. I heard Harry telling Paul not to pull over, but Paul's eyes flicked from the road to me in the rearview and the turn signal flicked on.

"Paul keep driving!" Harry bellowed from beside me and I just kept my hand on the door handle. 

We weren't even at a complete stop when I opened the door and climbed out, slamming the door behind me.

I hastily moved my feet, I just needed to be away. I realize that running is never the solution, however right now it's what my soul needed.

I heard two doors shut behind me and I moved faster, trying not to trip. I knew I was blocks from my car but I'd take my chances with walking if I had to.

I scoured the area quickly looking for a taxi. I cursed when nothing could be found and moved my feet as quickly as I could without actually running.

Paul and Harry were having a row behind me and I was so thankful for Paul in that moment. I'd have to send him one of those edible arrangement things.

Finally I heard what sounded like flesh hitting metal. I paused my steps to turn, Harry had punched a street sign and there was blood dripping down his fingers.

Paul stood by the sign still and Harry moved towards me. There was none of his usual prancing, every movement had purpose. Anxiety pumped through my veins and I turned to flee like a frightened rabbit. Before I could move a hand gripped my arm, finger tips digging in hard enough to leave bruises causing me to curse.

"I can't have you do this again. You can't just keep fighting with me and running away," He told me in a barking voice.

I slapped his forearm with my free hand and jerked away at the same time. Once I was free I shoved his chest with both hands.

"How dare you!" I shoved him again, getting in his face as I whispered, "You started this Harry. I can barely stand to look at you." A thick sob escaped my throat and I covered my mouth.

"No, you need to listen! My manager-" I shoved him harder making his breath whoosh out.

"I don't give a fuck about your manager Harold. All I care about is the fact that you either knew this was going to happen or you orchestrated this entire fiasco yourself." I looked around to see a few people staring as they walked past but thankfully no one really seemed to realize they were passing Harry Styles.

So why the fuck did I care anyway?

He grabbed my shoulders in a move that was surprisingly graceful for him and looked deep into my eyes. "I didn't do this! Look at me," he pulled me a little closer to him, "look at me when I tell you that I did not do this."

I shook my head and tried to pull away but he held tight. I saw Paul start walking towards us but kept a respectful distance away, observing the surrounding people.

I glared up at him, "But you knew, didn't you."

He sighed and looked down before opening his mouth and I just knew he was going to spout some bullshit.

"Didn't you?!" I shouted at him, my cheeks flushed with the effort and I was left breathless.

Tears filled his eyes as he looked at me and I could see self loathing in his eyes as he looked weakly said, "Yes."

This was the second time in my life that I felt abandoned by Harry. X-factor and now.

I watched the tears fall down his face and I at least wanted to feel some kind of satisfaction. But the only thing that came was anguish.

"Please, you don't know what happened. You don't know what they-" Harry started trying to explain.

**CRACK!**

Harry suddenly held his cheek with his bleeding hand, outlines of my fingers covered his cheek.

"I don't care. I really don't give a  _fuck_!" I clasped my hands together so I didn't hit him again. "I think you have me confused with Taylor Swift. I don't want my love life spread across 50 magazines a day later." I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "I was supposed to be your best friend. Your best fucking friend Harry. Hell, you even used Niall to get gossip circulating." I shook my head at him in disbelief. "Harry I've known you for quite some time now but what the fuck happened to you in the last two years?" I didn't pause long enough for him to answer.

"Actually I don't care. I  _used_  to care about you but I don't think that's really worth my time anymore." The admission left me breathless.

We both stood in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other.

When I turned to leave I looked at Paul who was right behind me, "Do not let him follow me." He nodded and I ran. Figuratively. But I still moved as quickly as I could.

I hailed a taxi and had them take me to my car so I could grab my bag, I knew better than to drive tonight.

The taxi driver stopped at my house and waited while I packed a bag and I got dropped off.   
I closed the door on the taxi and thanked the driver for being so understanding. I looked up as the taking drove away behind me and the sign above my head read, 'Liverpool John Lennon Airport'


	11. Nine.

"SURPRISE!!" I yelled when the door swung open.

My mother pulled me into a tight hug and dad hugged us both after he heard the tale tale sign of feminine waterworks.

For some reason my parents didn't seem as surprised as I thought they would be, but they were quite happy.

My mom was hovering. As I was unpacking my bags she was trying to help but was actually acting more like a police officer in an interrogation room than a mother.

"So why the spontaneous trip home?" First question popped out of her mouth as I flopped my bag on the bed.

"Honestly, I missed you guys." I admitted as I pulled out my tops and placed them in a drawer, careful not to make eye contact. It was the truth, I did miss them. And when your feelings are crushed there is never a better place to be than with your loving, overly attentive parents.

"You never do anything that's not planned out in advance." My mother muttered and I pretended I didn't hear her.

"So I have to make a day trip to the office in the next few days but other than that I'm here for some serious family time. You can gather all the aunts and uncles for a party if you want." I was hoping I seemed nonchalant, but I'm not quite sure I pulled it off.

Honestly right now I felt more like a Bella Swan than a Hermione Granger, but it is what it is. I needed a fucking break. I needed to be around my mom and my dad. Two people I knew would never betray me.

"Joy, let her unpack in peace. The interrogation can wait until she's had a good night's sleep." We turned towards the door where my dad stood, still a solid build despite his age and I flashed him a relieved smile.

"Well Richard, maybe she'd like some help. I'm not that bad, am I?" We looked at each other, sensing my mother's trap and shook our heads.

"No mum, I appreciate it I really do. But I didn't get much sleep on the flight so I might lay down and take a nap." I hugged her quickly and held her tight, moving to my dad to do the same.

"Thank you." I whispered and he squeezed me tighter for a moment before putting his arm around my mother and guiding her out of the room.

I deflated when the door closed and collapsed on the bed. As an afterthought I grabbed my phone and switched airplane mode off, having turned it on as soon as I got to the airport.

I still needed music and games for entertainment or I would have turned it off. I quickly flipped it to vibrate before anything came through.

I ignored the missed calls knowing who most of them would be from.

With texts opened I clicked on Gemma's name.

From: Gemma <3: What happened??? Harry is freaking out.

From: Gemma <3: AJ??

From: Gemma <3: Bitch! Where are you and why is your phone off. It's been almost 2 days.

I skimmed the rest, all of them having the same theme, so I sent a brief response.

To: Gemma <3: Ask your brother what happened. I'm out of the country.

I know that seemed a little bitchy. Okay, really bitchy. I was afraid she'd tell Harry.

I clicked on Harry's texts but didn't read them, I just didn't want to be reminded they were there. 

Niall's texts were similar to Gemma's so I responded to him quickly.

To: Niall: Talk to Harry about what happened. I'm out of the country, be back in a few weeks.

Then read Emma's texts, breathing a sigh of relief that the hard ones were over.

From: Emma: Got the car moved. I'll keep an eye on your place, that's no problem.

From: Emma: I know I probably shouldn't ask. But are you alright? It's just this was all so sudden.

To: Emma: THANK YOU! You can use the car while I'm away. She's reliable, shouldn't leave you stranded or anything. It would make me feel better knowing it's being moved about and not just sitting.

To: Emma: No, I am not okay. But I will be. I'm meeting with corporate while I'm here which needed to be done anyway. And thank you for looking after the office too. I know you were the right choice.

I put the phone in the night stand and plugged it to the charger.

Quietly I left the room and went down stairs but stopped when I heard mom and dad talking in the kitchen.

"What do you think happened Richard?" My mother's worried voice was softer than normal and I knew that they thought I was still upstairs.

My dad's exasperated sigh followed, "I'm not sure Joy. I'm sure she'll tell us when she's ready."

Mum puttered around the kitchen, probably finishing up dinner since it was about 5pm here.

My mom questioned my dad, "Do you think something happened with Harry?"

The answering scoff almost made me silently laugh. "Of course it did Joyce. He probably broke her heart again just like he did when he left to join that boy band-" The surprised noise that left my mother made me roll my eyes. Count on dad being the one to notice that.

"What do you mean? Aurora pushed him to do it and she was so supportive when they gained their fame." Mum sounded distracted and I peaked in to see her pulling pizza out of the oven. Yeeesss.

"Of course she was supportive, the boy can sing. Doesn't change the fact that him leaving broke her heart. I don't know how many more broken hearts she will forgive him for Joy," Dad paused and I heard the fridge open. "I know you love him like your own, and so do I, but you might have to side with your daughter on this one."

Thank you daddy. I guess that means that he didn't exactly approve of her keeping in contact with Harry. That didn't bother me, though he better not call while I'm here.

I quickly backed up to the steps and walked louder than I did before, finding the kitchen silent when I walked in.

"Hey mum, hey dad." I gave them a smile that I knew didn't meet my eyes and walked over to the pizza. I inhaled a deep breath, "Mmm, this smells so good. I'm starving." I admitted and mum handed me a plate.

Once we were settled and eating we fell into a comfortable silence with only mindless chitchat breaking it once in a while. For that I was thankful, for almost an hour I didn't have to hear his name or think about him. I also didn't have to keep hearing his stupid new music. That I still loved by the way.

I got to just be me, Aurora Jane. Not Aurora, best friend of Harry Styles or his supposed love interest. It was refreshing and I enjoyed the normalcy of this moment, it really was so much better than fighting off paps just to get in a restaurant or a vehicle.

Then the phone rang as I walked with dad into the living room. We could hear mum loud and clear even though she was doing her version of a whisper. Dad and I stopped behind the couch and I felt his stare but I couldn't meet his eyes. I just started at the blank TV, completely frozen.

"Oh hello darling!"

"Yes, she's here. Just got in this afternoon."

"Oh,  _you_  didn't know she was leaving the country either?" That was a very accusing tone mother.

"Probably about two weeks love."

Well fuck me. Now he knows where I am and how long I'll be here. Thanks mum. If I was a spy, I'd have to fake my death because of this woman I swear.

I guess she moved outside for part of the call because dad and I couldn't hear her anymore over the TV. About half an hour after that she came back inside and sat in the lounge chair looking worse for ware.

"You alright Joy?" dad asked and her head snapped towards him, eyes barely touching mine. "Yes, fine." she turned back to the TV then.

Dad looked at me and I shrugged, but it was a lie.

She knew. She  _knew_. Harry told her what happened. Holy shit, I never thought he'd admit it. He obviously didn't tell Gemma or Niall. But he told my mother. What the fúck?

I have no words.


	12. Ten.

I woke up the next morning with a thumping head ache and popped some aspirin before laying back in the bed and enjoying the silence. My parents were going shopping this morning and I had time alone where I didn't have to avoid looking at my mother.

For some reason the fact that she knows what's going on makes it worse. I was absolutely fine with them not knowing. Eventually I will have to tell my dad and then Harry's relationship with him will never recover. Seems like something silly to worry about but I really don't want them to stop talking to Harry because of me. He does love them and I'm okay with that. That hidden selfish part of me says screw that and ruin everything for him. But that's the part I wont listen to. Most likely wont listen to. Really want to listen to. But wont.

I grabbed my phone and had nothing new other than messages from Harry that I ignored.

Nothing from his family, nothing from Emma, nothing from work.

Good or bad? I don't know anything anymore. That's how the next few days went, uneventful and monotonous. I loved it.

That following Thursday, one week after I got here I decided it was the perfect time to head to the corporate offices in DC. Everything went well with the bosses, I just let them know I had a personal emergency and nothing else was said about it. The reports on the new office were in and the productivity was right on point. I had a few meetings with some HR people that were being moved to the Manchester office and everything went really well and I was looking forward to working with them. This put a little spring in my step, my work life was moving along swimmingly.

There was only had one problem when I tried to leave.

Go ahead, I'll give you one guess.

That's right! Paparazzi.

They flooded the public area of the office building and I had to leave through the back. Luckily there were a few police officers in the building and they offered to escort me.

We were walking through the hallways to the back access door and one of them kept looking at me.

"I'm sorry." He turned towards me as we walked, "Are you an actress? Model? I don't recognize you."

I laughed and shook my head denying those labels, "No, not an actress. Have you heard of One Direction or Harry Styles?"

"Oh yeah! His new CD is sick! My wife and I both love it!" The younger of the two cops spoke. His partner also nodded, "I think my daughter was into One Direction, they broke up didn't they?"

I smiled at them both. "Yeah, Harry's album is totally sick. I love it." I gushed and had to hold the smile on my face. While it was the truth, at the moment I hated to admit my love for the album. "They did go on hiatus but they are all doing solo albums." I informed the other officer.

The youngest nodded for a moment and looked back at me, "So what does that have to do with you? If you don't mind me asking."

I shook my head, "No I don't mind. Its actually all pretty silly to be honest. I grew up with Harry. I knew him before he was famous, so I'm just some famous persons friend that the paparazzi like to snap pictures of and create rumors about." I sighed and focused on walking, having to say that out loud makes it even more ridiculous and embarrassing. 'Hey, I'm just a no talent loser who is rumored to be the girlfriend of Harry or Niall.' Ugh.

They made no further comments about that, though the younger cop, Miller asked if he could get an autograph which I agreed to arrange. I'll have Gemma do it. We exchanged contact info, just social media and I also promised the older cop, Smith that I'd try to get something from all the guys for his daughter. I'll also have Gemma do that as well. If not it might turn into this weird thing where all of the sudden I'm getting it on with all of them and I'm the reason the band broke up. That's the last thing I need right now. 

Autographs were the least I could do since they were kind enough to escort me to my car, meaning the paps got a few pictures of me but not too many thank goodness. They seemed disappointed that Harry wasn't with me, but that's not my issue.

Once I got home we had a family dinner with just the three of us and a nice home cooked meal.

Late in the afternoon we relaxed on the couch together, though mum still wasn't quite herself but I was not ready for that conversation.

I scrolled through Twitter out of boredom and saw that the hashtag #AJinDC is trending. Fabulous. The next trending hash tag was #HarryquotesElton.

Out of pure curiosity I clicked on his profile and the last four tweets were Elton John lyrics.

  
@HarryStyles: What do I do when lightning strikes me and I wake to find that you're not there?

@HarryStyles: It's a sad, sad situation. And it's getting more and more absurd.

@HarryStyles: It's sad, so sad why can't we talk it over? Oh it seems to me that sorry seems to be the hardest word.

@HarryStyles: what I got to do to make you love me? What I got to do to be heard.  
  


The fans were going absolutely mental about these lyrics. So I had to clap back. Don't mind me, I watched a lot of Wendy Williams this past week. I love her, she's so sweet. And honest.

So I did the only thing I could do without responding directly or actually talking to him.

Tweet time!  
  


@AJGrif: To quote the lovely 1D: I want you to rock me, rock me, rock me, yeah. I want you to hit the pedal, heavy metal, show me you care I want you to rock me, rock me, rock me, yeah

 

I posted it and immediately closed the app. Thank god the notifications were off.

Little did I know, I'd be glad I kept my phone on me and that I was in the PR business. Also, if no one has noticed, I'm an idiot for posting things on Twitter.

I immediately regretted posting that. But you know what? I tucked tail the last time we got into a fight. I hid and avoided Harry. This time what he did would not be easily forgiven. Not that the last time was either. But I was 24, not barely 21 like last time I had grown mentally. At least a little bit.

I didn't have to hide, I could be as vocal as I wanted. The details were no ones business but mine. I just didn't have to be silent anymore.

Dad went to bed early - I think he was trying to give my mom and I time to discuss everything, but that sure as hell wasn't happening.

A few hours or so later I flipped through the channels pausing to see what was on each one. When the Jimmy Fallon intro came on mom finally spoke, "Lets watch this." I shot a confused look her way but she ignored it. She hated talk shows. Jimmy went through his monologue and I gave a side glance to my mother when he mentioned a 'surprise guest'.

I was, again, ignored.

What's really weird was that he only mentioned one other guest, the surprise guest and no band for the night.

Interesting. My mother shifted under my stare but kept her eyes on the TV.

After the first interview the commercial break started, mum went to the kitchen and I heard the wonderful sound of a wine bottle popping open and grinned.

Mum came back with two wine glasses and the bottle. She sat the glasses down and poured our wine, refilling mine when I quickly swallowed the contents.

We relaxed back into the couch and finally mum looked over at me, "Just don't be mad okay. This was not my idea." I felt anxiety build in my shoulders.

"What do you mean mum?" My question was met with silence.

Jimmy Fallon was back on the TV grinning at the camera when he signaled for the surprise guest to come out.

The audience lost it. Specifically the women in the audience. I couldn't blame them, he looked amazing in his black designer suit with no tie and the top buttons undone. Damn him for being so physically attractive. And damn him for turning into this horrible egocentric person that betrayed me to boost his fucking album sales.

They hugged on camera and finally settled down and Jimmy asked the usual questions and Harry gave his usual evasive answers.

After another glass or two of wine, quickly gulped down by me, Jimmy Fallon asked the question you could tell he had been waiting to ask.

"So you actually weren't supposed to be here today. But you called yesterday and we actually had a few spots open tonight." Jimmy asked and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I was in the city doing the Today Show performance actually and I over heard that you might need someone so I called." Harry nodded and paused as the crowd cheered. "Luckily you were able to have me, and here we are."

Cue cheering women. God, he does have such a magnetism about him. Too bad this whole situation has made me feel ill. I'll just drink more wine.

"Was there a reason you needed to come on here today?" I heard Jimmy question Harry and then stuttering from Harry. Jimmy cracked and they laughed together.

"Uh, well, I mean, yeah. Yeah, there was a reason I wanted to be on here tonight." Harry's admission made Jimmy smirk.

"So Harry," Jimmy paused and reached under the desk pulling out something and holding it out of view, "Does it have anything to do with this?" Jimmy flipped the card up and it was a photo of Harry's Twitter.

Must have been unexpected because Harry flushed and rubbed his hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, Jimmy, it does." Harry finally admitted and Jimmy giggled at him, knowing exactly how uncomfortable Harry was right now.

"What the hell is he doing?" I asked the TV.

"What you asked him to." My mother answered and I jumped having forgotten she was there. "What?" She just nodded at the TV.

"I'm actually trying this new thing Jimmy," Harry started explaining and Jimmy asked what it was. "I'm trying to be more, uh, honest. Not just with fans but with everyone in my life." Harry looked at the camera at this point, "I didn't necessarily lie, but I omitted the truth which was just as bad."

Jimmy nodded, "Okay. Hmm, so anyone in particular?"

Harry's voice went up a few octaves, "Why is this so awkward." He sang the last word and the audience cheered and Jimmy laughed at him. "Hey man, you wanted to do this!" Jimmy yelled.

"Oh god, I know I know." He sighed and ran his hand over his mouth again. "Yes, someone in particular. No names though." He looked up at Jimmy who had a large evil grin on his face. "No names Jimmy!" He yelled through a laugh.

"Sure buddy." Jimmy laughed out the promise and held up a picture of my Twitter post causing the camera to zoom in. It hovered there and they flipped to the wide angle camera. "And we'll be right back!" Jimmy yelled into the camera.

"Oh my fucking god." I muttered. I grabbed my phone and hit the number for the publicist that worked on the Jimmy Fallon show.

"What are you doing?" mum questioned me and I shook my head.

"Cheryl, hey! Yeah its Aurora. Can you do me a favor?!" I rushed quickly when she answered.

She offered to give me the number but informed me that tonight's show was pre-recorded. I definitely detected a smile in her voice.

**_Damn it Harold._ **

"Is this amusing Cheryl? I'm fucking freaking out here." I complained into the phone, glad that we were fairly good acquaintances. 

I heard her soft laugh and rolled my eyes. "Just watch. I think you're in for a good surprise." She teased me.

"I think a famous rock star is about to become a murder victim." I quipped and she laughed again, completely at my expense. We exchanged 'goodbye's and as I hung up her laughter was still ringing in my ear.

He's not only going to 'prove' rumors to the world but he's going to make this whole situation so much worse. "It's freaking pre-recorded. Oh god. I'm going to be sick." I muttered sitting back down and my mom smiled. I guess this confirmed what she wanted. Yes I still cared. I was fucking pissed at him and I might never forgive him... EVER. But still.

The commercials ended and I held my breath. I was staring at the TV when Jimmy started talking. He held up the twitter post for the camera again. "So before the break we were just asking Harry about this tweet right here." he paused and Harry sighed but smiled.

"We can discuss that later Jimmy." Harry said with a small smile.

Jimmy flipped the picture face down on the desk and tapped it with his hand, "Later then. There was an announcement that you wanted to share with everyone tonight, right?"

Harry nodded again and I saw the nervous look cover his face as he rubbed his hands on his thighs. Then a determined look took over his face and he started speaking actually using his serious voice.

"Yes," he had to pause for a few cheers but continued, "Actually this has to do with my Management company. I figured for once I'd make the announcement before the rumors started." The studio audience was utterly silent while Jimmy said, "Ohhhhh." using a dramatic tone.

Harry chuckled slightly, "I am leaving CAA. Effective immediately for a violation in the moral code of conduct included in our contract."

Now the entire audience 'ohhhhh'ed and Jimmy nodded, "Can you elaborate on that?"

"Damn it Jimmy." Harry muttered with a smile.

He took a deep breath, "Sure Jimmy, anything for you." he joked.

"They were using a very close friend of mine to basically blackmail me into agreeing to do things that just were not  **right**." He swiped two fingers across his lips and added, "In the process of that I hurt two people very close to me. One has forgiven me and I'm not sure if the other ever will."

His admission caused the audience to 'aww' and I sat on the couch in shock. This goes against every single fiber of his being. He was an insanely private person who didn't like to discuss anything remotely personal. Yet here he is, on a late night talk show watched by millions and millions of people airing out his dirty laundry. I felt like I was watching Dr Phil instead of Jimmy Fallon.

I saw tears in my mothers eyes and rolled mine. "What?"

The question made her jump, "Don't you understand why he just did that?"

I laced my fingers in my lap and just shook my head slightly, completely at a loss for words.  


End file.
